REDFIELD  PROCTOR 


PROCTOR 

The  Story  of  a 
-JMarble  Town 


BY 

David  C.  Gale 


1922 
The  Vermont  Printing  Company 
Brattleboro,  Vermont 


Copyright  1922 
by  Mortimer  R.  Proctor 


psq 


TO 
REDFIELD  PROCTOR 

PIONEER 
WHOSE  PERSONALITY 
IS  STILL  A  VITAL  FORCE 
IN  THE  COMMUNITY 
IN  WHICH  HE  LIVED 
THIS  LITTLE  BOOK 
IS  RESPECTFULLY 
DEDICATED 


M281505 


O 


FOREWORD 

THIS  book  represents  the  work  of  many  different 
people.  The  most  that  the  writer  has  attempted 
to  do  is  to  take  what  others  have  been  kind 
enough  to  give  him  and  fit  the  pieces  together,  like  the 
parts  of  a  picture-puzzle,  each  in  its  proper  place. 
The  result,  as  the  title  implies,  is  a  story  rather  than 
a  history.  It  lacks  the  completeness  of  a  reference 
book.  Its  chief  virtue  is  that  it  is  short,  and  that 
though  it  masquerades  under  the  name  of  story — it  is, 
according  to  the  best  of  records  and  traditions,  a  truth- 
ful account  of  the  town's  growth.  If  it  helps  the  reader 
to  see  the  wonder  and  the  romance  of  that  growth,  it 
has  accomplished  all  that  anyone  could  ask  of  it. 

In  the  spirit  of  fairness,  as  well  as  of  gratitude, 
acknowledgment  is  hereby  given  to  Mr.  Harry  P. 
Powers  and  Mr.  Frank  B.  Kingsbury,  who  began  the 
work  of  collecting  material;  to  Mr.  Frank  C.  Partridge, 
Mr.  B.  F.  Taylor,  Miss  Emily  D.  Proctor,  Mr.  Hamilton 
Ormsbee,  Rev.  Frederick  W.  Raymond  and  Rev.  Wil- 
liam H.  Cassidy,  who  have  contributed  generously  to 
the  text;  to  Mr.  Redfield  Proctor  and  Mr.  Mortimer 
Proctor,  without  whose  support  the  project  would  have 
been  long  ago  abandoned;  and  to  Mr.  James  T.  Glasson, 
for  his  resourcefulness  in  providing  photographs. 

A  word  of  appreciation  is  due  also  to  the  long  list 
of  older  residents  who  have  submitted  without  pro- 
test to  what  must  have  seemed  like  an  endless  chain 
of  questions.  It  was  left  with  them  to  turn  back  the 
years,  so  that  others  might  get  a  glimpse  of  the  days 
that  are  gone. 

D.    c.    G. 


CONTENTS 

Page 
Chapter  I . 

Marking  the  Trail 

The  Indian  Country — First  Explorations — 
The  French  and  Indian  War  and  the  Otter 
Creek  Valley 15 

Chapter  II 

The    Coming    of    Sutherland    and    Other 
Pioneers 

First  House  at  the  Falls — The  Sutherland 
Mills — Socialboro  Land  Controversies — 
Sutherland  and  His  Neighbors — The  Revolu- 
tionary Period  and  the  Making  of  the  State       27 

Chapter  III 

Growth  of  the  Settlement — 1820-1849 
Building  Highways  and  Bridges — New  Houses 
Erected — Industrial       Development — Social 
Customs — -The    Coming   of   the    Railroad — 
Difficulties   of  Construction — First  Train — - 
Mike  Eagan         61 

Chapter  IV 

Sutherland  Falls  in  the  Sixties 

Descendants  of  First  Settlers — War  Volun- 
teers— The  Atlas  Map  of  '69 — A  Retrospect — 
On  the  Threshold  of  a  New  Era       ....        79 

Chapter  V 

Rise  of  the  Vermont  Marble  Company 
The  First  Quarry — Humphrey's  Manuscript 
— Historical  Address — Reminiscences  of  Old 
Residents — Present  Day  Facts  and  Figures       95 

9 


Page 
Chapter  VI 

From  a  Settlement  to  a  New  Town 

Blasting  and  Filling — Laying  Out  Streets 
and  Building  Homes — Water  Systems — Leg- 
islative Struggles  over  Separation  of  Town — 
Proctor  in  State  and  Nation 145 

Chapter  VII 

The  Schools  and  the  Library 

First  School  in  Marble  Yard — Southmayd's 
School — Stone  School  House  of  1866 — Later 
Additions — Birth  of  the  Library — Under  the 
Store  Roof — Old  Library  Building — Opening 
of  New  Library — Ormsbee  Sketch        .      .      .      165 

Chapter  VIII 
The  Story  of  the  Churches 

Early  Services  in  Pennock  Barn — Lemuel 
Haynes — The  Chapel — The  Union  Church 
and  Parish  House — St.  Dominic's  Church — 
— Greek  Catholic — Swedish  Lutheran — 
Swedish  Congregational 187 

Chapter  IX 

The   Cooperative   Store,  the    Sutherland 

Club  and  the  Hospital 

Early  Trading  in  Rutland  and  Pittsford — 
Building  North  of  Office — Store  that 
Burned  in  1913 — Dedication  of  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
— Sutherland  Club — Cavendish  House — 
Hospital — Ormsbee  House 207 

Chapter  X 

A  Review  of  the  Scrap  Books 

Presidential  Visits  and  Other  Important 
Gatherings — The  Community  Idea — Proc- 
tor in  the  World  War — Conclusion      .      .      .      11^^ 

10 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Redfield  Proctor Frontispiece 

Looking  south  from  the  marble  bridge 14 

Village  of  Proctor  in  1922 20 

Sutherland  Falls  Quarry,  1885 26 

Map  showing  approximate  position  of  the  first 
settlements    in    what    is    now    the    town    of 

Proctor •  •  •  •  30 

Cellar  hole  of  Roger  Stevens'  Cabin,  built  in  1770  34 

Zebulon  Mead  commission 38 

Henry  Mead  commission 42 

Mills  in  1885 46 

Mills  and  village  in  1900 50 

Mills  and  village  in  1910 54 

Mills  and  village  in  1922 58 

The  old  covered  bridge 64 

Marble  Memorial  Bridge  which  replaced  the  old 

covered  bridge (id 

Swinging  bridge  across  Otter  Creek 68 

Marker  on  Mendon  Road  showing  limit  of  Rut- 
land Jail  Yard  in  1840 71 

The  Hills  Taylor  house,  built  in  1840 74 

The  Kelly,  or  Maynard  house,  built  about  1 830 ...  74 

The  Ormsbee  house,  built  about  1830 74 

Reproduced  from  an  atlas  map  of  1869,  with 
dotted  lines  added  to  indicate  present  boun- 
daries of  Proctor 80 

Looking  south  from  Terrace  Hill,  1885 84 

Looking  south  from  Terrace  Hill,  1890 86 

Looking  south  from  Terrace  Hill,  1922 88 

Letter   written    by    Redfield    Proctor,    accepting 

commission  in  5th  Vermont  Regiment 90 

11 


Ormsbee  Avenue 92 

Sutherland  Falls  Marble  Company's  first  mill. ...  98 

Sutherland  Falls  Marble  Company's  yard  in  1868  100 

Sutherland  Falls  Marble  Company's  yard  in  1878  102 

Sutherland  Falls  Quarry,  1885 106 

First  marble  channeling  machine,  used  in  Suther- 
land Falls  Quarry  until  about  1 868 106 

Sutherland  Falls  Quarry,  1905 108 

Office  and  mills  looking  north  in  1885 114 

Office  and  mills  looking  north  in  1893 116 

Office  and  mills  looking  north  in  1 922 118 

Sutherland  Falls  Block  Pile,  1885 126 

Carpenter  Shop,  1922,  formerly  the  site  of  Suther- 
land Falls  block  pile 128 

Vermont  Marble  Company,  1890 132 

Vermont  Marble  Company's  power  house  replaced 

by  hydro-electric  plant  in  1905 136 

Vermont  Marble  Company's  power  plant 138 

Aeroplane  view  of  Proctor,  photographed  in  the 

fall  of  1922 142 

Village  Square,  looking  south,  1885 146 

Village  Square,  looking  south,  1909 148 

Village  Square,  looking  south,  191 1 150 

Village  Square,  looking  south,  1922 152 

Village  Square,  1885 154 

Village  Square,  1922*. 156 

Looking  north  from  old  library  building,  1885 158 

Looking  north  from  old  library  building,  19 10 160 

Looking  north  from  old  library  building,  1 922 162 

Grave  of  Jonathan  C.  Southmayd,    first   public 

school  teacher  in  Sutherland  Falls 168 

Village  Square  in  191 2 168 

Town  hall,  or  village  school,  built  in  1886 172 

Town  hall,  with  additions  built  in  1897  and  1909.  .  172 

High  school 174 

The  public  library  in  1895 178 

Municipal  memorial,    1922,  formerly   the  public 

library 1 80 

The  library 182 


12 


Winter  scene  from  Fletcher  D.  Proctor's  residence  185 
The  school  house  of  1866,  which  served  also  as  a 

house  of  worship 190 

The  Union  Chapel,  built  in  1880,  burned  in  1889 
and  replaced  in  1891  by  the  present  Union 

Church 1 93 

Union  Church 196 

Parish  house 196 

St.  Dominic's  Church 200 

Greek  Catholic  Church 200 

Swedish  Lutheran  Church 202 

Swedish  Congregational  Church 202 

Village  Square,  looking  north,  1885 210 

Village  Square,  looking  north,  1895 212 

Village  Square,  looking  north,  1922 214 

The  Cooperative  Store 216 

An    unusual    view   of   the    fire    of    1913    which 
marked  the   passing  of  the  old  cooperative 

store 216 

Cavendish  House 224 

Ormsbee  House 224 

Proctor  Hospital,  1896  to  1902 228 

The  Hospital 228 

Senator  Proctor's  residence  at  time  of  President 

McKinley's  visit 236 

Reunion  of  15th  Vermont  Regiment,  1904 240 

Marble  crowned  grave  of  Old  Charley,  Senator 

Proctor's  army  horse 243 

The  Inn 246 

Forester's  Hall 246 

View   of  the   flood,    19 13 — looking    south    from 

bridge 250 

View  of  the  flood,  19 13 — entrance  to  Cooperative 

Store 252 

View  of  the  flood,  1913 — rear  of  Proctor  station  252 
View  of  the  flood,  1913 — near  Humphrey's  siding.  254 
Another  aeroplane  view  of  Proctor,   taken  at   a 
higher  altitude  and  showing  more  of  the  sur- 
rounding country 256 

13 


CHAPTER  I 
MARKING  THE  TRAIL 

THE  INDIAN  COUNTRY — FIRST  EXPLORATIONS  — 
THE    FRENCH   AND   INDIAN    WAR   AND 
THE  OTTER  CREEK  VALLEY 

NO  one  knows  when  the  Indians  Hghted  their 
first  camp  fire  in  the  Otter  Creek  Valley.  As 
far  back  as  1609  when  Samuel  Champlain 
turned  the  prow  of  his  boat  toward  the  shores  of  Ver- 
mont, the  land  on  every  side  was  in  possession  of  the 
Redskins.  It  is  supposed  that  even  then  they  were 
old  in  the  work  of  planting  corn  and  carrying  on  tribal 
wars. 

In  Crockett's  History  of  Vermont  it  is  main- 
tained that  "for  nearly  eighty  years  the  Coughnawaga 
Indians,  a  tribe  of  Iroquois  descent,  on  various  occa- 
sions sought  to  establish  a  claim  to  a  large  area  of  land 
in  Vermont  based  on  the  Iroquois  occupation.  Their 
claims  made  to  the  Vermont  Legislature  were  to  the 
effect  that  their  hunting  grounds  in  the  state  were  in- 
cluded in  these  bounds: 

"Beginning  on  the  east  side  of  Ticonderoga,  from 
thence  to  the  Great  Falls  on  Otter  Creek  (Sutherland 
Falls),  continuing  the  same  course  to  the  height  of 
land  that  divides  the  streams  between  Lake  Cham- 
plain  and  Connecticut  River,  thence  along  the  height 
of  land  opposite  the  Missisquoi,  and  thence  to  the 
bay." 

15 


16  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

The  legislature  contended  that  the  treaty  be- 
tween France  and  Great  Britain  in  1763,  and  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  in  1783,  extin- 
guished all  Indian  claims  to  Vermont  territory,  and 
declined  to  vote  money  to  the  claimants. 

Prior  to  1730,  if  we  may  trust  the  completeness 
of  the  records,  the  Otter  Creek  had  never  been 
traversed  by  a  white  man.  On  April  27th  of  that  year, 
a  small  band  of  Indians,  captained  by  James  Cross,  set 
out  from  what  was  then  known  as  Fort  Dunmore  in 
Massachusetts  and  blazed  a  course  northward  toward 
the  waters  of  Lake  Champlain.  They  traveled  by 
way  of  Black  River,  Plymouth  Ponds  and  Cold  River. 
On  Sunday  evening,  the  third  day  of  May,  they  camped 
on  the  banks  of  the  Otter  Creek.  The  following  day 
they  built  canoes,  and  by  Wednesday  they  were  afloat 
on  the  lonely  picturesque  stream  that  was  even  then 
beginning  to  weave  itself  into  the  history  of  the  Green 
Mountain  State. 

The  diary  of  James  Cross  contains  this  entry: 

"We  go  in  our  canoes  upon  Arthur  (Otter)  Creek  till  we 
meet  two  great  falls  in  said  river  (Gookins  Falls  and  Suther- 
land Falls).  Said  river  is  very  black  and  deep  and  sur- 
rounded by  good  land  to  the  extremity  of  our  prospect. 
This  day's  travail — ^S  rniles." 

The  Otter  Creek,  in  those  days  of  Indian  trading, 
was  the  natural  thoroughfare  between  Canada  and 
Massachusetts.  Prices  were  lower  in  the  States  and 
the  goods  thus  acquired  were  pushed  up  through  the 
Otter  and  Lake  Champlain  and  delivered  to  the  buyers 
of  the  North  Country.  Although  this  system  of 
merchandising  was  continued  without  interruption 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  French  and  Indian  wars, 
there  is  nothing  to  prove  that  any  white  man  passed 
over  the  course  between  the  years  1730  and  1748. 


MARKING  THE  TRAIL  17 

In  May  of  the  latter  year,  the  Melvin  Expedition, 
was  formed.  The  leader  was  Eleazer  Melvin  and  there 
were  eighteen  men  in  his  party.  Starting  from  Fort 
Dimmore  on  May  13th,  they  proceeded  up  the  Con- 
necticut to  Charlestown,  where  they  swung  off  to  the 
Black  River,  taking  a  trail  that  was  practically  iden- 
tical with  the  one  over  which  the  Cross  pioneers  had 
tramped.  It  is  to  Melvin's  diary  that  later  genera- 
tions are  indebted  for  those  thrilling  observations 
which  have  already  been  retold  in  Mason's  History 
of  Rutland  County: 

"On  the  19th  the  party  crossed  several  large  streams, 
being  branches  of  the  Otter  Creek.  Saw  many  signs  of  the 
enemy,  such  as  camps,  trees  girded,  etc.  On  the  20th 
marched  over  Otter  Creek  around  Sutherland  Falls.  Furth- 
er along  found  several  camps  of  the  previous  winter  and 
beaten  paths  made  by  the  enemy.  On  the  24th  came  upon 
a  camp  fenced  in  with  a  very  thick  fence  where  was  found 
a  keg  of  about  four  gallons  which  appeared  to  be  newly 
emptied  of  wine  and  about  twelve  pounds  of  good  French 
bread.  Reached  Lake  Champlain  on  the  28th  and  had  a 
skirmish  with  a  party  of  Indians.  Began  a  retreat,  pur- 
sued by  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  enemy.  Came 
again  to  the  banks  of  the  Otter  Creek  in  Pittsford,  about  a 
mile  below  Sutherland  Falls  and  marched  to  Center  Rut- 
land and  made  camp.  Thence  followed  up  the  Otter  Creek 
to  the  head  of  one  of  its  branches.  Had  another  skirmish 
with  the  enemy  which  scattered  the  party;  four  of  our  men 
killed,  one  wounded  and  one  taken  prisoner." 

It  was  only  a  few  years  after  Melvin's  scouting, 
party,  that  the  cry  arose  for  something  better  than  a 
trail  across  the  wilds  of  Vermont;  France  and  England 
were  each  claiming  the  same  territory  and  were  having 
no  end  of  trouble  over  the  settlement.  It  was  often 
necessary  to  send  troops  into  Canada  but  the  Green 


18  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

Mountain  region  was  a  handicap  that  no  one  liked  to 
consider.  Soldiers  had  to  pick  their  way  by  the 
marked  trees  along  the  path.  Supplies  must  be  packed 
upon  the  backs  of  horses,  a  method  which  was  ex- 
tremely hazardous  under  the  conditions  that  were 
then  menacing  the  country. 

Throughout  all  that  region,  there  were  only  two 
or  three  settlements.  A  little  group  of  men  had  made 
a  stand  at  Dummer's  Meadow  on  the  Connecticut 
River.  Block  houses  had  also  been  reared  at  certain 
other  points  farther  north,  including  the  French  Cana- 
dian camp  at  Chimney  Point  on  the  lake  front.  In 
the  main,  however,  there  was  little  else  than  untouched 
forest,  in  the  conquest  of  which  lay  untold  danger  and 
hardship. 

In  1756  Massachusetts  began  to  agitate  the  sub- 
ject of  a  military  road  between  the  Connecticut  River 
and  Lake  Champlain.  The  Legislature  went  so  far  as 
to  call  for  a  survey  which  should  indicate  the  perplexi- 
ties of  the  undertaking.  It  was  planned  to  lay  out  the 
road  from  Charlestown  on  the  Connecticut  to  that 
point  on  Lake  Champlain  which  was  in  line  with 
Crown  Point,  N.  Y.  Since  the  survey  was  to  be  staked 
by  way  of  Otter  Creek,  there  was  demand  for  facts 
and  figures  relative  to  the  depth  of  the  water,  the  num- 
ber and  size  of  the  falls,  and  the  character  of  the  soil 
and  woodland  along  its  borders.  The  survey  soon  be- 
ame  a  reality  but  it  was  three  years  before  the  road 
began  to  grow. 

In  1759  General  Amherst  gave  the  order  which 
was  to  bring  light  to  the  forest-burdened  hills  and  val- 
leys. He  directed  that  some  of  the  New  Hampshire 
and  Massachusetts  soldiers,  stationed  at  Crown  Point, 
should  be  drafted  into   the  service  of  road-building, 


MARKING  THE  TRAIL  19 

and  so  it  happened  that  200  men  under  the  leadership 
of  Capt.  John  Stark  marched  out  from  the  Fort,  armed 
with  shovels  and  axes,  and  attacked  the  unlimited 
leagues  of  woodland.  As  they  fought  their  way  on 
toward  the  Otter,  they  left  behind  them  a  wagon 
track  in  place  of  the  trail.  At  the  end  of  that  year  the 
road  had  crept  to  the  banks  of  the  river.  A  bridle 
path  was  extended  over  the  mountain  by  Colonel 
Hawks  but  for  some  reason  he  left  his  task  uncom- 
pleted. In  1760  the  New  Hampshire  soldiers  went 
to  work  at  Number  Four  and  stretched  forth  a  new 
road  as  far  as  Ludlow,  the  point  where  Colonel  Hawk's 
path  terminated.  From  that  time  on,  there  was  far 
less  uncertainty  in  the  transporting  of  supplies  over 
the  Green  Mountains.  Military  stores  could  be  hauled 
on  wagons  to  Ludlow  and  then  on  the  backs  of  horses 
up  over  the  heights  to  the  shores  of  the  Otter  Creek, 
where  they  were  transferred  once  more  and  pressed  on 
toward  the  lake. 

It  is  not  within  our  province  to  review  all  the  hor- 
rors and  bloodshed  of  the  Colonial  and  Indian  Wars. 
All  readers  of  history  know  how,  by  reason  of  its  situa- 
tion, the  Vermont  territory  was  harassed  by  the  raids 
and  outrages  which  usually  fall  on  the  neutral  ground. 
There  could  be  no  serious  thought  of  settlement  when 
the  element  of  safety  was  entirely  lacking.  Many  of 
the  New  England  pioneers  had  passed  through  the 
great  forest  and  marvelled  at  its  possibilities  but  few 
had  cared  to  undertake  the  risk.  Civilization  was 
confined  to  the  military  posts  and  blockhouses. 

The  turning  point  came  in  1760  with  the  British 
victory  on  the  plains  of  Abraham.  It  was  inevitable 
that  the  surrender  of  Canada  and  the  march  of  General 
Amherst  to  take  possession  of  Montreal  in  the  name  of 


MARKING  THE  TRAIL  21 

the  English  sovereign  should  set  people  to  thinking 
about  the  friendly  land  to  the  southward  where  nature 
was  standing  ready  to  open  the  doors  of  her  storehouse. 
Then  began  the  crusade  for  town  charters  directed 
against  the  amiable  Benning  Wentworth,  Colonial 
Governor  of  New  Hampshire.  Nearly  all  the  towns  in 
Rutland  County  were  chartered  in  1761  although  in 
many  instances  there  was  a  space  of  several  years  be- 
tween the  granting  of  the  charter  and  the  first  settle- 
ment. There  was  really  no  incentive  for  hurrying 
since  the  annual  dues  on  each  charter  were  limited  to  a 
single  ear  of  Indian  corn  for  which  the  trustees  of  the 
town  were  to  be  held  accountable. 

'Tn  the  spring  of  1766,"  as  the  story  appears  in 
Crockett's  History,  "John  Chipman  of  Salisbury, 
Conn.,  with  fifteen  other  young  men  set  out  for  the 
new  lands  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  taking  oxen 
and  a  cart  laden  with  farming  tools  and  other  necessary 
articles.  They  found  no  house  north  of  Manchester, 
and  probably  no  road  beyond  Sutherland  Falls,  where 
the  village  of  Proctor  is  now  located.  In  some  places 
it  was  necessary  for  this  pioneer  band  to  cut  a  path. 
The  party  followed  the  valley  of  the  Battenkill  to  the 
head  waters  of  the  Otter  Creek,  and  at  Sutherland 
Falls  a  canoe  was  fashioned  from  a  large  tree.  The  ox- 
cart was  fastened  to  the  stern  of  the  canoe  and  was 
towed  up  stream,  while  the  oxen  were  driven  along 
the  bank.  In  this  manner  the  young  men  proceeded 
to  the  present  site  of  Vergennes,  where  the  waterfall 
interrupted  further  navigation." 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  land  distribution,  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Colden  of  New  York  issued  a  mo- 
mentous proclamation.  The  document  quoted  from 
a  late  order  of  the  king  which  named  the  Connecticut 


22  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

River  as  the  boundary  line  between  New  York  and 
New  Hampshire  and  it  cautioned  the  pioneers  against 
disobeying  that  order.  From  a  previous  title  granted 
to  the  Duke  of  York  the  boundary  had  been  described 
as  a  twenty  mile  line  extending  northward  from  the 
Hudson  River  to  Lake  Champlain,  and  up  to  that 
time  the  Vermont  lands  had  always  been  recognized 
as  a  part  of  the  New  Hampshire  province.  It  was  on 
the  strength  of  this  older  edict  that  Governor  Went- 
worth  had  apportioned  the  Vermont  townships. 

No  sooner  had  Colden  sent  forth  his  decree  than 
he,  too,  began  to  issue  land  patents  in  what  is  now 
known  as  Rutland  County.  His  proclamation  was 
penned  in  April,  1765,  and  by  the  following  November 
he  had  meted  out  about  twelve  hundred  acres.  These 
were  supposed  to  be  awarded  in  return  for  military 
service  but  they  were  usually  turned  to  the  profit  of 
the  land  speculators.  Few  of  them  had  the  king's 
approval. 

Then  was  ushered  in  one  of  the  most  sensational 
struggles  that  this  or  any  country  has  ever  recorded. 
Out  of  it  arose  Ethan  Allen  and  his  intrepid  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  a  body  of  men  which  the  New  Yorkers 
were  never  able  to  conquer.  It  was  due  largely  to  the 
Allen  leadership  that  Vermont  finally  won  the  contest 
and  the  right  to  enter  the  Union  as  an  independent 
state.  The  holders  of  the  New  Hampshire  grants  had 
undergone  untold  dangers  and  privation  in  the  rearing 
of  their  rude  cabins  in  the  wilderness  and  they  resented 
any  action  which  might  endanger  their  houses  and 
lands.  They  adopted  a  form  of  resistance  that  left 
no  doubt  as  to  their  intentions.  More  than  one  land 
interloper  was  sent  back  across  the  lakes  bearing  on 
his  back  the  unmistakable  marks  of  the  persuasive 
"beech  seal." 


MARKING  THE  TRAIL  23 

In  the  staging  of  this  exciting  drama,  the  scenes 
were  often  unrolled  in  Rutland  County.  The  Otter 
Creek  Valley,  even  at  that  time  was  looked  upon  as  a 
land  of  promise,  and  the  Rutland  section,  in  addition 
to  its  wealth  of  untouched  soil  had  several  alluring 
mill  sites,  each  of  which  might  be  made  to  produce  its 
tribute  of  lumber  and  corn  meal.  Furthermore,  the 
Valley  at  this  point  had  a  natural  beauty  and  charm  of 
setting  that  one  would  hardly  expect  to  duplicate 
throughout  the  entire  length  of  the  river.  On  every 
hand  was  a  glorious  vision. 

Only  a  few  years  ago,  a  man  who  has  traveled 
much,  both  in  this  country  and  in  other  corners  of  the 
world,  confessed  to  a  fellow  tourist  that  he  had  found 
nothing  to  equal  the  view  which  flashed  upon  him  as 
the  train  emerged  from  the  rock-hewn  cut  at  Suther- 
land Falls  and  bore  him  out  among  the  tantalizing 
lights  and  shadows  of  the  colorful  Pittsford  valley. 
This  is  an  opinion  of  the  present.  If  the  picture  is 
worthy  of  such  a  tribute  today  it  must  have  been  even 
more  worthy  of  it  in  those  long  ago  days  when  the 
entire  landscape  was  set  forth  in  the  rare  harmony 
which  nature  alone  can  arrange. 

What  then  was  this  "Great  Falls"  country  which 
the  Indians  knew  ?  Uncurbed  woodland  for  one  thing — 
beech,  birch,  maple  and  spruce  on  the  higher  levels, 
and  pine  and  elm  bordering  the  rivers  and  lakes— a 
stretch  of  forest  in  which  the  deer  and  the  bear,  the 
wolf  and  the  otter  were  seldom  disturbed  by  the  bark 
of  a  gun.  Underneath  the  trees  was  a  soil  that  needed 
only  to  be  turned  over  to  bring  forth  all  that  the  pioneer 
could  desire.  On  all  sides,  save  at  the  peak  of  the 
highest  mountains,  was  the  rich  drapery  of  a  perfect 
vegetation,  cut  in  twain  in  the  lower  valley  by  the 
sinuous,  gleaming  course  of  the  Otter. 


24:  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

Among  the  soldiers  who  took  part  in  the  French 
and  Indian  Wars  there  was  at  least  one  who  was  unable 
to  forget  the  captivating  charm  of  the  Pittsford  valley. 
Others  might  admire  and  pass  on  but  with  Gideon 
Cooley  the  impression  was  of  another  kind.  And  so 
in  1766,  he  journeyed  back  again  up  the  old  military 
road  until  he  stood  once  more  on  the  height  which 
overlooks  the  Great  Falls.  From  that  vantage  point 
he  attempted  to  pick  out  the  site  for  a  new  log  cabin. 
His  eye  finally  settled  on  a  tract  of  land  that  bordered 
the  river  on  the  east  and  thrust  its  corner  up  under  the 
very  nose  of  the  falls.  The  beavers  had  already  built 
a  home  at  one  end  of  it,  causing  the  water  to  settle 
back  and  overspread  its  surface  but  he  planned  to  open 
the  dam  and  develop  the  fertile  acres. 

After  giving  the  tract  a  closer  inspection  and  find- 
ing his  confidence  unaltered,  he  began  to  look  about  for 
the  man  who  controlled  the  title.  The  owner,  one 
Captain  Doolittle,  having  in  mind  the  settlement  of 
the  town,  was  ready  to  grant  him  the  deed  on  condition 
that  he  settle  on  the  land  and  bring  it  under  cultivation. 
Under  those  conditions  Cooley  signed  the  paper  and 
went  back  again  to  Greenwich,  Conn.,  his  former 
home,  to  prepare  for  his  conquest  of  the  wild. 

In  the  summer  of  1767,  Gideon  Cooley,  in  com- 
pany with  his  brother  Benjamin,  made  still  another 
trip  up  the  Crown  Point  Road  to  the  land  at  the  foot 
of  the  Falls.  Once  there,  they  began  clearing  away 
the  timber  and  in  the  course  of  time  they  raised  a  cabin 
in  the  open  space.  So  far  as  is  known,  this  cabin  was 
the  first  to  be  reared  within  sound  of  Sutherland  Falls. 
The  land  on  which  it  stood  was  later  incorporated  in 
the  town  of  Pittsford.  Nearly  all  the  original  Cooley 
land  is  now  in  Pittsford,  although  it  is  conceded  that 


MARKING  THE  TRAIL  25 

the  little  corner  which  jutted  up  under  the  falls  may 
have  come  within  the  present  boundaries  of  Proctor. 
The  chronicles  of  those  early  days  cast  only  a  meagre 
light  on  the  lives  of  the  Cooley  brothers.  Nor  is  it 
essential  that  we  should  know  how  they  tamed  the 
forest  and  wrested  a  living  from  the  stumpy  soil.  It  is 
enough  to  know  that  they  had  the  fortitude  and  persis- 
tence to  hold  them  here  until  others  arrived  with  aid 
and  companionship.  There  is  little  danger  of  over- 
estimating their  fighting  spirit.  On  the  one  hand 
were  the  redmen  and  the  four-footed  foes;  on  the 
other,  were  the  undrained  swamps,  charged  with 
disease  and  death.  Courage  these  men  must  have 
had  in  unstinted  measure,  otherwise  they  could  never 
have  kept  their  heads  above  ground. 


SUTHERLAND    FALLS    QUARRY,    1885 


CHAPTER    II 

THE  COMING  OF  SUTHERLAND  AND 
OTHER  PIONEERS 

FIRST  HOUSE  AT  THE   FALLS THE    SUTHERLAND   MILLS 

SOCIALBORO     LAND     CONTROVERSIES SUTHERLAND 

AND  HIS   NEIGHBORS THE    REVOLUTIONARY 

PERIOD     AND     THE      MAKING 
OF    THE    STATE 

WHEN  Cooley  drove  his  first  stake  in  the 
wilderness,  he  thought  only  of  the  land 
and  of  the  home  he  proposed  to  build. 
His  plan  contemplated  the  clearing  away  of  the  trees 
and  the  tilling  of  the  soil;  to  him  the  river  was  simply 
a  thing  that  must  be  forded.  But  not  all  the  pros- 
pectors who  passed  that  way  were  inclined  to  look 
upon  the  river  as  an  obstacle.  Hardly  had  the  Cooley 
brothers  started  their  work  in  the  valley  when  there 
came  a  man  who  believed  he  could  divert  the  power  of 
the  falls  to  his  own  enrichment.  That  man  was  John 
Sutherland. 

The  date  of  Sutherland's  coming  has  never  been 
definitely  fixed  although  it  is  fairly  certain  that  it  was 
not  later  than  1767.  What  we  do  know  is  that  he  took 
up  his  claim  at  the  Falls  under  a  New  York  charter  in 
what  was  then  designated  as  the  town  of  Socialboro. 

A  numberof  New  York  land  traders  had  applied  to 
the  governor  of  New  York,  John  Henry  Lydens,  for  a 
new  town.     It  was  to  comprise  all  of  the  present  towns 

21 


28  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

of  Rutland  and  Pittsford  and  a  part  of  Brandon. 
Sutherland  was  one  of  the  men  whose  names  appear  on 
this  petition  and  a  likeness  of  the  governor's  original 
charter  is  even  now  one  of  the  treasured  legacies  of  a 
certain  Clarendon  family. 

The  mere  fact  that  Sutherland  was  intimate  with 
the  British  officers  at  Whitehall  was  enough  to  bring 
him  trouble.  When  in  1771  William  Cockburn,  a 
surveyor  and  a  friend  of  Sutherland,  was  sent  down  by 
the  New  York  governor  to  survey  the  Socialboro  acres, 
he  was  met  by  James  Mead  and  Asa  Johnson,  the  self- 
appointed  delegates  of  the  Hampshire  Grant  settlers. 
After  these  gentlemen  had  outlined  to  Cockburn  what 
would  happen  if  he  continued  his  operations  he  gathered 
up  his  instruments  and  retreated  to  more  hospitable 
territory  on  the  other  side  of  the  lake. 

In  a  letter  to  James  Duane  of  Albany  he  described 
his  experiences  as  follows:  "I  was  not  allowed  to  go  to 
Sutherland's  house,  although  I  had  run  out  lots  from 
the  south  bounds  to  within  two  miles  of  the  Great  Falls 
where  he  lives.  I  found  it  in  vain  to  persist  any  longer 
as  they  were  resolved  at  any  event  to  stop  us." 

When  it  became  known  that  Sutherland  was  in 
sympathy  with  Cockburn  and  the  interests  which  were 
back  of  him  the  former  was  promptly  cast  under  the 
ban  of  suspicion.  Nor  was  he  able  to  reinstate  himself 
in  the  confidence  of  his  neighbors.  There  is  little 
doubt  that  in  the  course  of  time  he  thought  it  best  to 
buy  the  New  Hampshire  title  to  his  land,  thus  winning 
from  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  a  reluctant  acknowledg- 
ment of  ownership,  but  even  that  was  not  sufficient  to 
raise  him  from  the  probation  into  which  he  had  fallen. 
The  Socialboro  settlers  were  so  ardent  in  their  adherence 
to  the  Vermont  cause  that  any  deviation  to  another 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  29 

Standard  was  viewed  with  reproach  and  condemnation. 

The  ancestors  of  John  Sutherland  came  to  this 
country  from  Scotland  and  made  their  first  home  at 
Horseneck,  Conn.  From  there  they  moved  to  Nine 
Partners,  Dutchess  County,  N.  Y.,and  it  was  from  this 
latter  settlement  that  the  Sutherland  family  made  its 
entry  into  the  wooded  basin  of  the  Otter  Creek.  The 
house  which  they  reared  at  the  Falls,  a  cabin  of  ex- 
ceedingly modest  size,  must  have  been  a  marvelously 
elastic  structure,  otherwise  they  could  never  have  packed 
into  it  the  thirteen  children  which  made  up  the  house- 
hold. It  is  hard  to  believe  that  it  was  ever  recognized 
as  a  tavern  even  though  there  is  a  tradition  to  that 
effect.  On  the  other  hand  perhaps  it  was  not  altogether 
a  disadvantage  to  have  it  snugly  packed,  for  at  best 
those  first  winters  in  the  wilderness  with  only  the  fire- 
place to  drive  out  the  frost  must  have  been  a  serious 
tax  on  the  endurance. 

The  Sutherland  homiC  stood  two  or  three  rods  west 
of  the  river  and  a  little  southwest  of  the  marble  bridge 
of  today.  The  shingles  were  put  on  with  wooden  pegs, 
and  so  were  the  roof-boards.  The  sides  were  first  filled 
with  mud  and  later  plastered.  It  was  never  painted. 
It  was  torn  down  by  M.  C.  Warner  in  1872.  The  site 
is  now  marked  by  the  Myron  Warner  house.  In  fact 
the  position  of  the  two  structures  was  so  nearly  the 
same  that  the  first  cellar  was  utilized  in  part  as  a  founda- 
tion for  the  second  building.  It  would  seem  that 
Sutherland  must  have  raised  some  sort  of  cabin  for  a 
temporary  shelter,  since  tradition  has  it  that  the  timber 
for  his  house  came  from  his  own  mill.  There  is  reason 
to  believe  also  that  the  grist  mill  was  the  first  to  be 
constructed,  so  there  must  have  been  a  roof  to  cover  the 
Sutherland  family  while  all  this  was  going  on. 


MAP  SHOWING  APPROXIMATE  POSITION  OF  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS 
IN  WHAT  IS  NOW  THE  TOWN  OF  PROCTOR 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  31 

The  ground  on  which  the  early  saw  mill  rested  is 
now  covered  by  the  south-east  corner  of  the  Vermont 
Marble  Company's  Electric  Shop  and  the  grist  mill  was 
a  little  farther  up  the  course  of  the  river.  Both  were 
very  near  the  falls.  It  is  said  that  the  sawed  lumber 
could  be  slid  over  the  rocks  to  the  pond  below,  where 
it  was  made  into  rafts  and  floated  down  stream  to  the 
waiting  buyers.  There  are  actual  entries  in  the  Pitts- 
ford  records  which  prove  that  lumber  was  being  pro- 
duced by  Sutherland  in  1780.  Old  authorities  claim 
that  Fort  Vengeance  was  built  of  Sutherland's  lumber. 

The  grist  mill  also  was  patronized  very  generally 
by  the  pioneers.  They  came  from  all  directions  travel- 
ing mostly  by  paths  or  trails. 

There  is  a  wood  road  on  West  Mountain  which 
follows  the  line  of  the  old  bridle  path  past  the  set  of 
farm  buildings  at  the  summit.  Over  this  trail  the 
Whipple  Hollow  settlers  used  to  bring  in  their  corn, 
grateful  for  the  service  that  Sutherland  was  only  too 
glad  to  give. 

Undoubtedly  the  mills  had  a  greater  bearing  on 
Sutherland's  prosperity  than  he  was  ever  permitted  to 
see.  That  he  was  on  the  Green  Mountain  Boys'  ques- 
tionable list  has  never  been  denied.  It  has  been  hinted 
that  they  were  more  than  once  at  the  point  of  driving 
him  away  from  his  holdings  but  that  each  time  he  was 
finally  allowed  to  remain  because  the  settlers  were  de- 
pending on  him  for  lumber  and  meal.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  condition,  neither  his  person  nor  his 
property  was  ever  molested.  The  wheels  in  his  mills  con- 
tinued to  drone  out  their  welcome  and  his  domain  was 
extended  until  he  owned  all  the  land  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Creek  between  the  Pittsford  line  and  what  was 
later  recognized  as  the  northern  border  of  the  Mead 


32  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

farm.  Within  a  very  few  years  his  settlement  had  taken 
its  place  as  the  pivotal  point  of  the  Sutherland  Falls 
section. 

By  the  time  Sutherland  was  well  established  at  the 
Great  Falls,  there  was  a  clearing  cut  away  near  the 
Little  Falls  where  the  village  of  Center  Rutland  had 
its  origin.  This  work  was  being  done  by  Col.  James 
Mead  of  Manchester.  He  had  previously  moved  into 
the  state  from  Nine  Partners,  N.  Y.,and  on  becoming 
interested  in  the  Rutland  territory  he  bought  a  large 
tract  of  land  and  immediately  began  to  plan  for  his 
conquest  of  the  wilderness.  The  spot  he  selected  for 
his  cabin  was  at  the  fork  of  the  highways  where  the 
road  turns  north  on  the  west  side  of  the  river. 

In  the  spring  of  1770  Colonel  Mead,  with  a  family 
that  numbered  twelve,  toiled  up  through  the  valley 
toward  the  half-completed  cabin  which  had  been  raised 
the  preceding  fall.  They  had  been  three  days  on  the 
road  from  Manchester,  camping  the  first  night  in 
Dorset  and  the  second  in  Danby.  It  was  late  in  the 
day  when  they  sighted  their  new  home  and  it  was  an 
unalterably  cheerless  view  which  met  their  eyes.  Win- 
ter had  left  the  roofless  cabin  in  a  sorry  condition. 

Indians  were  encamped  nearby  and  the  disheart- 
ened emigrants,  intent  on  procuring  shelter  for  the 
night,  appealed  to  them  for  a  share  in  their  fire- 
illumined  wigwam.  After  talking  together  for  a  few 
moments  in  their  guttural  language,  the  redmen  gave 
the  sign  of  welcome.  More  than  that,  they  went 
outside  and  built  another  wigwam  for  their  sleeping 
place,  leaving  the  first  retreat  for  the  undivided  use  of 
the  strangers.  In  these  meager  quarters  the  Mead 
family  remained  until  the  following  autumn  when  a  new 
log  cabin  was  ready  for  their  occupancy.  Although  the 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  33 

James  Mead  settlement  has  no  direct  connection  with 
the  town  of  Proctor  it  is  not  without  interest,  nor  in- 
deed did  it  fail  to  wield  an  influence  on  the  Sutherland 
Falls  community.  From  it  grew  the  village  of  Center 
Rutland,  the  forerunner  of  Rutland  City.  The  Mead 
house  at  Little  Falls  became  a  well  known  stopping 
place  for  the  passing  traveler,  taking  upon  itself  the 
rather  pretentious  title  of  Mead's  Tavern.  Even  now 
one  may  locate  the  old  well  which  was  once  at  the  ser- 
vice of  the  grateful  wayfarers.  As  for  the  proprietor  of 
the  Tavern,  his  name  appears  more  than  once  in  the 
early  chronicles  of  the  state,  not  alone  in  military 
affairs  but  in  the  none  the  less  perilous  activities  of  the 
Dorset  and  Windsor  conventions. 

Within  the  fifty-year  period  dating  ahead  from 
1770  there  were  less  than  a  score  of  homes  added  to 
the  territory  that  has  since  been  chartered  as  the  town 
of  Proctor.  Yet  each  of  these  original  clearings  is  in 
itself  a  compelling  bit  of  history,  revealing  a  story  re- 
plete with  all  the  fascinating  elements  of  a  romance. 
Some  of  them  were  long  ago  obliterated;  others  are 
marked  only  by  an  indistinct  grass-carpeted  cellar-hole. 
There  can  be  no  better  way  than  to  take  them  in  order 
and  relate  some  of  the  incidents  which  tradition  has 
fastened  upon  them. 

While  Colonel  Mead  was  housing  his  family  in 
the  Indian  wigwam,  Captain  Doolittle  the  promoter 
of  the  Pittsford  charter  was  urging  his  brother-in-law, 
Roger  Stevens  of  Quaker  Hill,  N.  Y.,  to  take  up  land 
in  the  river  country.  Heeding  the  captain's  advice, 
the  Stevens  household  decided  to  emigrate  to  Pittsford, 
where  land  was  cheap  and  unsubdued.  Once  there  the 
head  of  the  family  with  the  help  of  his  sons  rimmed  out 
a  little  spot  in  the  woods  and  marked  it  with  a  house. 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  35 

This  cabin  was  set  on  the  crest  of  the  hill  about  thirty 
rods  west  of  Gorham  Bridge  and  bounded  on  the  north 
by  the  Crown  Point  road.  The  cellar  over  which  it  was 
constructed  is  now  open  to  the  sky  and  two  stalwart 
butternut  trees  have  grown  within  its  walls. 

Roger  Stevens  was  of  Welch  descent,  his  father 
having  sailed  for  this  country  early  in  the  eighteenth 
century.  The  young  Roger,  when  he  was  fit  for  work, 
was  made  an  apprentice  to  a  hatter  and  until  the  trade 
was  learned  and  for  some  years  thereafter  he  continued 
in  the  business.  On  transferring  his  possessions  to 
Pittsford  he  went  at  the  oaks  and  evergreens  with  sim- 
ilar tenacity.  As  time  went  on  the  land  about  the  cabin 
was  shorn  of  its  trees,  the  acres  being  transformed  into 
food-producing  fields. 

Steven's  life  in  the  community  seems  to  have  been 
more  or  less  of  an  enigma.  It  is  known  that  one  of  his 
sons,  Roger  Stevens,  Jr.,  joined  the  British  forces  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  was  a  continual  trouble- 
maker for  the  Revolutionary  forces.  On  entering  the 
service,  he  left  his  family  at  Pittsford  to  care  for  the 
new  home  they  had  established,  and  during  the  years 
of  his  absence  he  sometimes  visited  them,  coming  and 
going  under  the  secrecy  of  night.  In  this  manner  he 
was  enabled  to  take  back  with  him  a  liberal  amount 
of  data  that  was  exceedingly  useful  to  the  enemy.  The 
Vermont  authorities,  through  the  confiscation  and  sale 
of  his  lands,  finally  prevailed  on  him  to  discontinue  his 
visits.  Both  Roger  Stevens,  Jr.,  and  his  father  spent 
their  last  days  in  Canada. 

Another  homestead  which  had  its  beginning  in 
1770  was  the  one  founded  by  Samuel  Crippen.  It  lay 
still  farther  up  the  hill  west  of  Gorham  bridge,  a  holding 
of  land  that  later  generations  have  christened  the  *'01d 


36  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

Shangraw  Place."  In  common  with  many  of  the  Con- 
necticut families,  the  Crippens  originated  in  England 
and  were  among  the  earliest  to  seek  the  freedom  of  the 
Colonial  shores.  Their  estate  in  the  Otter  Creek  valley 
was  purchased  of  James  Mead,  the  sale  taking  place 
in  midsummer,  allowing  time  before  cold  weather  for 
the  welding  of  some  of  the  trees  into  a  house.  And  thus 
it  came  about  in  the  fall  that  Samuel  Crippen  and  his 
wife  took  up  the  work  of  keeping  alive  another  oasis  in 
the  desert  forest.  Could  they  have  foreseen  the  perilous 
times  through  which  they  were  to  fight  their  way,  it  is 
quite  possible  that  the  first  fire  on  their  hearthstone 
might  also  have  been  the  last. 

For  a  time  their  lot  was  no  more  thrilling  than  the 
common  round  of  frontier  life.  The  great  adventure 
came  in  the  summer  of  178 1.  Mr.  Crippen  left  his 
work  in  the  hayfield  and  started  on  foot  for  Fort  Ven- 
geance in  Pittsford.  On  reaching  a  neighbor's  house 
he  accepted  the  loan  of  a  horse  and  saddle.  A  little 
farther  on  he  was  overpowered  by  a  Tory-directed  band 
of  Indians  and  borne  away  toward  Canada  a  prisoner, 
leaving  the  hastily  summoned  relief  party  far  in  the 
rear.  It  was  the  rumor  of  the  day  that  the  Tory  in  ques- 
tion was  none  other  than  Roger  Stevens,  Jr.,  the  son 
of  Crippen's  nearest  neighbor. 

The  months  of  Canadian  captivity,  while  they 
were  never  free  from  hardship  and  indignity,  had  an 
ending  far  more  propitious  than  the  average  Indian 
experience.  Within  a  year  the  white  man  was  given 
his  liberty  and  the  right  to  return  to  the  Vermont 
Grants  on  parole.  As  a  precaution  against  a  second 
forced  march  into  the  north  country  he  at  once  moved 
his  belongings  to  Wallingford,  a  town  which  was  better 
able  to  resist  the  depredations  of  the  redmen.  At  the 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  37 

time  of  his  departure  he  looked  ahead  to  the  day  when 
the  land  should  be  at  peace  and  he  could  make  a  second 
start  in  his  old  home.  But  that  day  proved  to  be  little 
better  than  a  will-o-the-wisp.  Mr.  Crippen  died  in 
Wallingford  in  1783. 

Nothing  now  remains  of  the  original  Crippen 
buildings,  although  there  are  certain  older  residents 
who  can  remember  when  some  of  them  were  intact.  It 
is  believed  that  a  part  of  the  timber  taken  out  of  the 
earlier  structure  was  worked  into  the  Shangraw  prop- 
erty. The  years  were  not  many  that  Samuel  Crippen 
spent  almost  within  sight  of  Sutherland  Falls,  yet  they 
were  full  of  industry  and  they  were  enough  to  assure 
the  newcomer  a  place  as  a  man  of  character.  His  name 
is  among  those  listed  in  1773  as  members  of  the  First 
Congregational  Church  of  Rutland. 

Nor  was  the  family  name  one  that  passed  out 
with  the  first  generation.  A  son,  Amos  Crippen,  was 
the  builder  of  what  eventually  became  the  Lewis  White 
place,  and  of  a  shop  nearby  in  which  he  toiled  for  many 
years  as  a  blacksmith. 

Another  relative,  David  Crippen,  bought  twenty 
acres  of  the  land  previously  relinquished  by  Colonel 
Mead,  and  on  that  soil  was  shaped  another  opening 
and  another  home.  This  latter  cabin,  a  product  of 
1774,  was  about  six  rods  west  of  the  Otter  Creek  and 
forty  or  fifty  rods  south  of  Gorham  Bridge. 

David  Crippen  began  operations  in  February.  In 
the  fall  of  that  year,  Ezra  Mead  and  Henry,  his  grand- 
son, drove  their  cattle  up  the  valley  and  set  up  camp 
on  the  lowlands  which  from  that  day  to  this  have  been 
under  the  control  of  the  Mead  family.  Zebulon,  the 
father  of  Henry,  and  a  brother  of  James  Mead,  was  to 
have  joined  them  later  in  the  season,  bringing  with  him 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  39 

the  other  members  of  the  household  and  a  store  of 
provisions,  but  for  some  undisclosed  reason  the  start 
was  delayed  until  the  following  spring.  This  left  the 
two  stock-tenders  to  pass  the  winter  alone  amid  strange 
and  cheerless  surroundings.  The  cabin  which  they 
fashioned  down  by  the  creek  was  rough  and  open- 
jointed,  a  poor  barricade  against  the  chill  of  the  marshes. 
Their  only  clothing  was  of  linen  weave,  and  their  food 
supply  was  even  more  scanty  than  their  wearing  apparel. 
Nor  was  there  anything  for  the  cattle  to  eat  save  what 
could  be  gathered  from  bushes.  Then,  as  a  climax  to 
the  long  round  of  hardships,  the  spring  rains  brought 
the  river  up  over  its  banks,  flooding  the  cabin  and  forc- 
ing both  men  and  animals  to  swim  for  the  higher  ground. 

That  summer,  the  united  family,  profiting  by  first 
year  lessons,  pitched  a  second  cabin  on  their  newly  pur- 
chased land.  Its  cellar  was  considerably  above  the 
river  level  and  a  little  south  of  the  site  now  claimed  by 
the  brick  house.  This  was  the  last  cabin  to  rise  on  the 
estate.  From  there  the  Meads  moved  across  the  road 
to  a  real  farm  house.  In  later  years  the  men  who  have 
ploughed  the  fields  east  of  the  brick  homestead  have 
brought  to  light  a  variety  of  knives,  hatchets  and  other 
implements,  all  rusty  with  age  and  exposure,  the  rem- 
nants of  that  earlier  home  which  faced  the  sunset. 

The  first  ancestors  of  the  Mead  family  came  to 
England  in  the  wake  of  the  Norman  conquest.  William 
Mead,  the  father  of  the  Vermont  branch,  sailed  for 
America  in  1635.  During  the  subsequent  years  there 
were  a  series  of  migrations,  a  cycle  which  began  at 
Stamford,  Conn.,  and  swung  around  through  Nine 
Partners,  New  York,  to  the  final  stand  on  the  shores  of 
the  Otter.  In  all  their  wanderings  the  fighting  spirit 
of  old  Normandy  was  still  burning  within  them.  There 


40  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

was  little  chance  for  it  to  smoulder.  They  were  thrown 
first  into  the  vortex  of  Indian  fighting,  then  into  the 
more  systematic  service  of  Revolutionary  days.  The 
original  army  commissions,  awarded  to  Capt.  Zebulon 
Mead  in  1762  and  to  Henry  Mead  in  1790  and  1791, 
are  still  counted  the  choicest  heirlooms  of  the  old  West 
Road  dwelling. 

Northwest  of  the  Mead  settlement,  on  a  trail 
which  slants  up  the  mountain  side,  is  a  capacious  spring, 
one  that  was  known  to  the  Indians  long  before  it  was 
ferreted  out  by  the  white  men.  The  water  has  certain 
mineral  properties  which  to  the  Indian  were  of  very 
definite  medicinal  value,  and  tribesmen  from  both 
north  and  south  have  gathered  in  solemn  conclave 
around  its  forest-cooled  basin.  It  was  their  custom  at 
such  times  to  drink  unsparingly,  that  they  might  be 
the  better  able  to  withstand  disease.  If  there  happened 
to  be  a  sick  man  in  camp  he  was  bundled  on  to  a  horse 
and  made  a  part  of  the  procession,  so  that  he  too  could 
be  brought  within  touch  of  the  health-mending  pool. 
This  spring  was  wrapped  in  superstition;  from  the 
first  it  was  set  apart  as  neutral  ground.  The  tribes- 
men from  different  sections  were  oftentimes  the  most 
vindictive  of  enemies,  but  there  at  the  water's  edge 
they  put  aside,  their  animosities  and  kept  the  peace. 

The  path  to  the  spring  was  a  part  of  the  longer 
course  which  reached  over  the  top  of  the  mountain, 
and  in  the  terrorized  flight  which  grew  out  of  the  Battle 
of  Hubbardton,  the  refugees  stormed  down  its  narrow, 
forest-enclosed  recesses,  never  once  halting  until  they 
were  within  call  of  the  Mead  stockade.  They  stopped 
there  to  sound  a  warning  and  to  declare  that  the  In- 
dians would  soon  be  upon  them,  and  then  they  rushed 
on    toward   Bennington.  The   members   of  the   Mead 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  41 

family,  having  no  desire  to  take  part  in  an  Indian 
celebration,  assembled  some  of  their  belongings  in  an 
ox  cart,  and  burying  the  crockery  and  a  few  other 
things  of  weight  and  value  in  the  river,  they  set  out 
after  the  fleeing  caravan  on  the  road  to  Center  Rutland. 
Hardly  were  they  under  way  when  the  axle  broke, 
compelling  them  to  abandon  the  cart.  The  best  they 
could  then  do  was  to  tie  the  bedding  to  the  backs  of 
the  oxen,  and  with  this  as  a  seat  for  the  women,  the 
outcasts  finally  stalked  into  Bennington,  there  to  re- 
main until  the  battle*  had  been  fought  outside  the 
town  and  the  fear  of  invasion  was  no  longer  running 
wild. 

It  was  stated  by  Governor  Clinton  of  New  York 
that,  "after  the  battle  at  Bennington,  not  an  Indian 
was  heard  to  the  northward;  the  scalping  business 
seemed  to  have  ceased." 

In  later  years  when  the  track  was  being  laid  for 
the  Clarendon  &  Pittsford  railroad,  one  of  the  laborers 
drove  his  spade  down  into  the  mouldy  log-ribbed  wall 
of  the  old  Mead  stockade.  He  was  digging  about  forty 
rods  south  of  the  Mead  place  and  a  little  west  of  the 
highway.  Anyone  who  would  question  the  wisdom  of 
building  a  fort  on  low  approachable  ground  should 
review  the  conditions  under  which  this  was  brought 
into  service.  The  river  was  the  Indian  waterway.  In 
time  of  danger  the  pioneers  could  gather  in  the  stockade 
and  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy  up  and  down 
the  creek,  and  with  the  military  road  passing  the  door 
and  the  high  hills  near  at  hand,  they  could  the  more 
readily  communicate  with   their  neighbors.  When  no 


*  Accounts  of  the  Battle  of  Bennington  refer  to  James  Claghorn,  whose  name 
often  appears  in  the  early  land  records  of  the  Sutherland  Falls  country.  It  is 
said  of  him  that  he  came  out  of  that  conflict  with  six  bullet  holes  in  his  hat. 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  43 

other  outlets  were  open,  there  were  the  mountains 
with  their  signal  fires  as  an  agency  for  the  forwarding 
of  news.  Even  brief  signs  were  welcome  when  they 
flashed  a  warning;  it  was  everything  just  to  know  which 
way  the  redskins  were  moving. 

There  were  three  of  the  Mead  brothers  who  had  a 
hand  in  the  settlement  of  Rutland  county;  Zebulon  at 
Sutherland  Falls,  James  whose  entry  into  Rutland  has 
already  been  described,  and  Stephen  who  bought  from 
James  a  holding  north  of  the  Samuel  Crippen  right  and 
so  became  one  of  the  fathers  of  Pittsford.  The  efforts 
of  this  family  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  community  were 
constant  and  varied.  Undeniably,  the  first  need  of  the 
town  was  for  men  who  could  fight.  No  settlement  could 
hope  to  keep  itself  on  the  map  unless  its  veins  were  vi- 
brant with  strength  and  aggressiveness.  But  when 
the  right  to  existence  began  to  pass  unchallenged  there 
was  a  call  for  constructive  work,  for  officers  who  could 
bring  the  settlers  together  within  the  circle  of  a  local 
government.  In  this  latter  service,  as  well  as  in  the 
exigencies  of  warfare,  the  Meads  were  ardent  and  loyal 
contributors. 

Following  the  Meads  there  was  no  further  exten- 
sion of  the  settlement  until  1777.  In  January  of  that 
year,  Stephen  Mead  transferred  one  hundred  acres  of 
Pittsford  land  to  John  May,  a  newcomer  at  the  Grants. 
May  was  an  Englishman,  born  in  1746,  who  sailed  for 
America  when  but  a  youth.  His  holdings  in  Vermont 
included  nearly  all  of  the  farm  which  subsequently 
became  the  property  of  Lewis  White.  His  house,  which 
grew  to  completion  in  the  spring,  was  a  little  southwest 
of  the  Roger  Stevens  place.  The  cellar  was  still  intact 
as  late  as  1872,  and  could  no  doubt  be  located  even  now 
by  the  large  boulder  which  was  the  homestead's  birth- 


44  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

mark.  The  old  road  which  curled  around  the  Lewis 
White  place  to  the  door  of  the  May  cabin,  and  then 
on  toward  Sutherland  Falls,  is  no  longer  a  public  high- 
way, although  its  bed  is  still  set  apart  by  scattering 
posts.  For  several  years  May  retained  his  proprietor- 
ship and  committed  himself  to  the  varying  fortunes  of 
his  rocky  estate.  As  to  the  actual  length  of  his  stay  on 
the  place,  or  where  he  again  threw  out  the  latch  string, 
there  is  little  that  can  be  said. 

In  1777  also  there  arrived  James  Ewing,  who  bought 
fifty  acres  of  unreclaimed  land  of  Darius  Crippen  and 
chopped  out  a  place  large  enough  for  a  cabin.  This  land 
lay  to  the  southward  from  the  original  David  Crippen 
property  and  was  then  in  possession  of  the  son  Darius. 
Other  land  was  added  to  Ewing's  estate  from  time  to 
time  and  from  it  finally  emerged  the  A.  C.  Powers  farm. 
Indeed  one  need  only  have  walked  across  the  road 
toward  the  west  from  the  house  that  old  residents 
still  look  back  upon  as  the  A.  C.  Powers  place,  to  stand 
on  the  identical  spot  where  that  first  settler  framed  his 
log  hut. 

James  Ewing,  by  the  way,  was  a  son-in-law  of 
Benjamin  Cooley,  one  of  the  two  brothers  who  lived 
the  first  chapter  in  the  history  of  Pittsford. 

The  coming  of  Isaac  Chatterton  was  the  event  of 
1783.  The  land  which  he  brought  under  the  swing  of 
his  plough  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  across  from 
the  Mead  farm.  No  doubt  there  is  somewhere  a  yel- 
lowed book  which  would  tell  how  he  acquired  the  title 
to  the  ancestral  acres,  but  no  one  seems  to  know  where 
it  is,  nor  has  anything  been  disclosed  relative  to  his 
early  life  or  the  trail  which  led  him  down  amid  the 
storms  and  vicissitudes  of  the  river  country.  Whatever 
mav  have  been  his  motive  in  taking  up  his  residence 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  45 

in  the  valley,  there  was  nothing  at  all  questionable 
about  his  years  of  service  or  the  integrity  of  purpose 
which  lay  behind  them.  When  he  died  the  homestead 
was  bequeathed  to  his  only  son.  It  was  that  son,  Lever- 
ett  Chatterton,  who  built  the  old  stone  house  which 
is  serving  today  as  a  home  for  the  town's  poor.  A  little 
south-east  from  the  stone  house,  and  on  the  other  side 
of  the  road,  is  another  and  an  older  Chatterton  building,, 
older  even  though  it  may  have  been  remodeled  by  a 
later  generation  of  carpenters. 

To  read  of  the  early  years  of  the  Humphrey  family 
is  like  going  to  the  library  shelves  and  turning  the  pages 
of  some  old  romance.  Joseph  Humphrey,  the  founder, 
was  born  at  Winchester,  N.  H.,  the  son  of  Colonel  Wil- 
liam Humphrey,  a  Revolutionary  officer.  There  were 
fifteen  children  in  the  family  and  as  they  began  to  grow 
it  was  inevitable  that  the  parental  cabin  should  feel 
the  strain.  While  still  six  years  under  the  freeman's 
age,  Joseph  went  out  in  search  of  more  room.  He  left 
Winchester  in  1784,  his  only  clothing  on  his  back,  his 
only  luggage  the  axe  which  was  flung  over  his  shoulder. 
His  feet  were  bare  and  he  wore  no  coat.  Alone  and 
unencumbered,  he  crossed  the  Connecticut  and  turned 
northward  up  into  the  Green  Mountain  wilds,  asking 
for  nothing  but  an  opportunity  to  carve  out  a  place 
for  himself. 

The  chance  came  when  he  arrived  at  Sutherland 
Falls.  Someone  set  him  at  work  and  he  kept  at  it.  A 
part  of  his  labor  went  into  the  building  of  the  old  stone 
jail  at  Rutland.  Then  he  moved  north  up  the  Otter. 
Isaac  Chatterton  was  another  of  his  employers  and  so 
was  John  Sutherland.  Nine  years  of  toil  and  planning 
and  saving,  and  he  had  raised  himself  from  the  ranks 
of  the  hired  men  to  the  company  of  the  property  owners. 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  47 

He  was  able  to  negotiate  with  Sutherland  for  the  trans- 
fer of  sixty  acres  bordering  on  the  river  and  reaching 
south  to  the  Mead  line.  Thus  was  the  Humphrey  farm 
given  its  name  and  brought  under  family  sovereignty. 

There  was  a  log  cabin  on  the  property,  one  that  no- 
body seemed  to  want.  It  had  been  left  there  alone 
until  it  was  in  very  truth  a  part  of  the  forest.  Young 
saplings  were  crowding  in  from  without  and  a  mis- 
guided sumach  had  sprung  up  in  the  earthen  fireplace 
and  was  even  then  thrusting  its  branches  out  into  the 
light.  It  was  two  years  before  young  Humphrey  had 
redeemed  the  premises  to  his  liking,  and  then,  one  day, 
an  ox  sled  came  creaking  up  to  the  door,  heralding  the 
arrival  of  a  young  lady  on  horseback — the  first  Hum- 
phrey bride  at  Sutherland  Falls. 

The  coming  of  Hannah  Parmalee  of  Pittsford  and 
the  conversion  of  the  homely  cabin  into  a  real  home, 
has  been  quaintly  set  forth  in  manuscript  form  by  one 
of  the  descendants  of  that  first  family.  The  paper  can- 
not now  be  located  but  its  lines  have  been  interwoven 
with  several  of  the  town  histories,  gaining  thereby  a 
recognized  standing  among  the  community  traditions. 
The  moving  on  that  long  ago  winter's  day  was  all  ac- 
complished at  one  load,  and  even  so  the  sled  was  not 
overtaxed.  Two  brothers  of  the  bride  had  joined  the 
party,  so  that  there  might  be  someone  to  drive  back 
the  oxen.  And  so  there  were  four  to  sit  down  to  supper 
on  the  day  the  new  housekeeper  came. 

It  was  a  very  frugal  meal  and  it  was  served  in  true 
picnic  fashion.  Bread  was  brought  in  from  the  load, 
and,  since  the  young  husband  had  already  laid  in  a 
stock  of  pork  and  corn  meal,  a  johnny  cake  was  soon 
baking  beside  the  fire  and  the  aroma  of  fried  ham  began 
to  steal  out  into  the  clearing.  There  were  only  three 


48  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

chairs  and  three  knives  and  forks  in  the  cabin,  so  it 
was  imperative  that  Joseph  Humphrey  should  eat  with 
a  jack-knife  and  a  wooden  fork  and  use  a  block  of  wood 
for  a  dining  chair.  In  these  days  no  one  would  think 
of  starting  under  so  formidable  a  handicap,  yet  it  was 
accepted  by  the  pioneers  as  the  inevitable  beginning, 
out  of  which  they  must  build  the  prosperity  of  the 
coming  years. 

After  about  two  years  of  toil  and  good  management,. 
Joseph  Humphrey  was  able  to  raise  a  frame  house  and 
turn  his  back  on  the  clumsy  log  cabin.  This  second 
home  flaunted  one  and  a  half  stories.  It  looked  out  to 
the  south  from  a  point  nearly  175  feet  east,  or  slightly 
northeast,  of  the  brick  homestead  that  has  been  the 
birthplace  of  later  generations.  In  this  more  commo- 
dious and  comfortable  dwelling,  the  founder  of  the 
Humphrey  family  lived  the  greater  portion  of  his  life,, 
and,  under  the  watchful  eye  of  his  good  wife,  several 
sturdy  children  were  made  ready  to  take  their  places 
in  the  world. 

The  brick  house  that  now  stands  guard  over  the 
Humphrey  acres  was  completed  in  1826.  It  was  con- 
structed by  William  Humphrey,  the  eldest  of  Joseph's 
sons.  Its  walls  were  in  line  with  the  four  points  of  the 
compass,  in  recognition  of  the  builder's  activities  as  a 
land  surveyor.  It  was  an  unusual  structure  in  that 
practically  all  the  materials  out  of  which  it  was  formed 
were  produced  within  the  boundaries  of  the  estate. 
Trees  of  course  were  waiting  for  the  axe  and  saw,  and 
down  across  the  road  to  the  west  was  a  kiln  where  the 
bricks  were  made.  To  the  eastward  was  an  outcropping 
ledge  of  marble,  a  ledge  which  in  the  passing  of  time  be- 
came the  nucleus  of  the  Columbian  quarry,  and  from 
this  bed  were  wedged  out  the  slabs  with  which  the 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  49 

windows  were  trimmed.  Even  the  nails  might  have 
been  of  home  manufacture,  for  on  the  high  ledge  north 
of  the  projected  cellar  was  an  iron  deposit  of  known  and 
tested  character. 

The  old  house  remained  intact  until  the  latter  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  but  it  was  robbed  of  its 
prestige  when  the  larger  home  took  its  place  in  the  fore- 
ground. Indeed,  this  new  abode  of  the  Humphrey 
family  was  unique  among  the  other  buildings  of  the 
settlement.  It  was  the  first  to  have  its  walls  formed  of 
brick.  Later  it  was  forced  to  share  the  distinction  with 
others,  but  in  the  beginning  it  was  the  only  represen- 
tative of  its  class,  set  apart  by  all  the  exclusiveness 
that  is  usually  accorded  to  a  leader. 

The  original  Humphrey  farm  was  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  Beaver  Pond  Brook,  a  little  stream  that 
is  now  out  of  sight  under  the  marble  yards.  The  western 
corner  stones  were  at  the  top  of  West  Mountain.  Look- 
ing out  over  such  an  expanse,  the  home  of  William 
Humphrey  was  provided  with  a  setting  which  no  man 
could  criticise.  It  included  the  level  part  of  the  valley,, 
the  section  from  which  later  generations  were  to  harvest 
a  long  succession  of  crops;  it  included  also  the  un- 
numbered oaks  and  spruces  that  were  deeply  rooted  in 
every  acre.  Near  one  of  those  primeval  spruces,  in  the 
pasture  to  the  rear  of  the  house,  is  the  site  of  the  family 
burying  ground.  The  bodies  were  all  removed  to  a. 
Pittsford  cemetery  many  years  ago,  yet  the  ragged,, 
wind-frayed  spruce  still  holds  itself  erect,  in  remem- 
brance of  the  days  and  the  lives  that  are  gone. 

It  was  only  a  few  years  after  the  Sutherlands  sold 
the  land  south  of  Beaver  Brook  to  the  Humphreys, 
that  they  transferred  the  territory  on  the  north  to  R. 
M.  Powers,  whose  first  holdings  in  the  settlement  were 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  51 

far  up  in  the  northwest  corner,  on  a  stretch  of  hillside 
that  has  since  been  defined  as  the  "Old  Wright  Place." 
Mr.  Powers  was  born  in  Greenwich,  Mass.,  on  Christ- 
mas Day,  1775.  He  arrived  at  the  outposts  of  Pittsford 
in  about  1792  with  an  eye  open  for  the  opportunities 
which  were  said  to  be  knocking  at  every  cabin  door. 
Three  years  apparently  was  enough  to  give  him  a  start, 
for  in  1795  he  bought  his  first  real  estate  and  began 
cultivating  and  improving  it.  Before  winter  closed  in 
he  had  completed  a  house  on  the  property.  Then  came 
his  marriage  to  Polly  Carpenter  of  Chittenden,  followed 
in  the  spring  by  the  opening  of  their  first  home  in  the 
Pittsford  valley. 

That  home  stood  on  the  west  side  of  the  road,  up 
over  the  hill  from  the  Roger  Stevens  place  and  a  little 
southwest  from  the  John  May  clearing.  The  crumbling 
walls  may  still  be  located  if  one  knows  where  to  look — a 
pile  of  cellar  stones  over  which  the  weeds  and  under- 
growth drape  themselves  at  will.  It  is  only  a  few  rods 
east  of  the  Clarendon  &  Pittsford  railroad  track,  and 
almost  equally  distant  from  the  old  Market  Highway. 
One  might  travel  far  to  find  a  more  sightly  spot,  but 
it  is  quite  possible  that  the  scenery  may  have  been 
better  than  the  soil.  In  any  event,  Mr.  Powers  only 
retained  his  ownership  a  little  more  than  a  year,  the 
title  being  transferred  in  1797  to  Robert  Wright.  Short- 
ly afterward,  the  retiring  claimant  made  a  second  in- 
vestment and  became  the  proprietor  of  the  James 
Ewing  farm,  a  holding  which  has  already  been  de- 
scribed. For  a  few  years  he  banked  his  fires  under  the 
original  Ewing  roof,  then  he  mortised  together  the 
larger  Powers'  dwelling  on  the  other  side  of  the  road, 
which  was  to  be  passed  down  to  his  children  as  a  lasting 
tribute  to  his  foresight  and  thoroughness. 


52  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

When  Peter  Sutherland  decided  to  pull  up  stakes 
at  the  Falls  and  part  with  the  claim  which  had  been  his 
father's  best  venture,  it  was  R.  M.  Powers  who  stood 
first  among  the  buyers.  Papers  were  signed  which  re- 
linquished all  Sutherland  control  to  that  unbroken 
group  of  hills  and  hollows  on  which  the  entire  northern 
part  of  the  village  of  Proctor  was  to  rise.  With  the  land 
went  the  water  rights  at  the  Falls  and  an  old  building 
near  at  hand.  With  it  too  went  a  matchless  deposit  of 
marble  although  neither  party  to  the  contract  had  any 
inkling  of  the  fact.  And  in  later  years  Mr.  Powers  sold 
to  Forbes  Manley  fifteen  acres  of  that  land,  the  very 
ground  on  which  the  Sutherland  Falls  quarry  was 
finally  opened,  for  the  extremely  nominal  consideration 
of  forty-five  dollars.  In  that  period  the  things  of 
greatest  industrial  moment  were  all  on  top  of  the  earth; 
few  of  the  settlers  had  any  time  to  waste  on  the  uncer- 
tainties that  lurked  underground.  The  successor  to  the 
Sutherland  business  organization  at  the  Falls  continued 
to  court  prosperity  after  the  manner  of  his  predecessor, 
interesting  himself  now  and  then  in  a  shop  or  a  mill  and 
buying  and  selling  land  whenever  the  right  kind  of 
prospect  could  be  located.  Perhaps,  after  all,  it  was 
best  that  the  value  of  the  marble  beds  remained  an  un- 
guessed  secret.  The  hour  had  not  struck  when  Vermont 
quarries  could  be  profitably  operated,  nor  was  it  to  be 
sounded  for  many  a  long  year.  As  it  was,  the  well- 
rounded  life  of  R.  M.  Powers  was  never  distorted  by 
any  of  the  quarrying  experiments  that  crippled  the 
pioneers  of  the  marble  industry.  What  lay  beneath  his 
feet  never  had  the  chance  to  breed  longing  and  discon- 
tent because  there  was  no  one  to  tell  him  about  it. 

Right  here  a  line  must  be  drawn  between  the  eigh- 
teenth and  nineteenth  centuries.  For  a  space  of  nine 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  53 

years  no  settlements  were  made;  in  fact,  there  were 
only  five  or  six  newcomers  during  the  next  quarter  cen- 
tury. These  arrivals  should  be  introduced  separately, 
since  to  each  of  them  belongs  an  individual  niche  in 
the  town's  hall  of  fame. 

In  1804,  Morris  Reynolds  moved  over  the  line  and 
planted  his  hearthstone  near  the  Double  Roads  Cross- 
ing. His  father,  Jonathan  Reynolds,  was  even  then  an 
established  resident  of  the  valley,  although  the  smoke 
from  his  fireplace  was  farther  to  the  south,  so  that  it  has 
no  logical  place  in  these  records.  The  land  had  been 
deeded  to  him  by  Col.  James  Mead.  It  centered  upon 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Creek  on  soil  that  townspeople 
of  a  later  day  recognize  as  the  Grafton  Griggs  farm. 
The  date  of  transfer  must  be  classed  with  the  uncer- 
tainties, but  the  matter  of  price  seems  to  be  somewhat 
less  obscure.  It  is  maintained  by  one  of  the  family  de- 
scendants that  Colonel  Mead  was  induced  to  part  with 
the  entire  estate  of  275  acres  in  exchange  for  three  or 
four  otter  skins,  a  transaction  which  reverts  very  force- 
fully to  the  relative  values  of  land  and  otter  skins.  It 
seems  that  the  elder  Reynolds  had  been  commissioned 
as  a  lieutenant  in  the  Revolutionary  Army,  and  that, 
on  leaving  the  service,  his  activities  as  a  hunter  and 
trapper  brought  him  more  or  less  local  renown.  One 
might  suppose  that,  for  a  man  of  that  type,  a  property 
so  extensive,  secured  through  the  delivery  of  a  few 
otters,  would  be  a  rare  bargain.  However  that  may 
have  been  regarded,  the  Reynolds  homestead  was  thus 
instituted,  and  there  it  was  that  Morris  Reynolds  passed 
the  maturing  years  of  his  life.  As  already  related,  he 
hung  out  a  latchstring  of  his  own  in  1804.  Other  sons 
and  daughters  also  detached  themselves  from  the  par- 
ent  nest   and  made  other  homes   in   the  valley.  Still 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  55 

Jonathan  Reynolds  clung  to  the  house  he  knew  best. 
For  thirty-six  years  he  traveled  on  in  the  old  way. 
When,  in  1840,  there  came  to  his  ears  the  call  that  can- 
not be  ignored,  he  lacked  only  sixteen  days  of  being  one 
hundred  years  old. 

The  year  181 1  brought  another  worker  to  the 
settlement  in  the  person  of  Benjamin  Capron.  One 
may  still  inspect  the  timbers  which  he  drew  out  of  the 
forest  and  fitted  into  the  old  house  on  the  West  Road. 
His  estate  has  never  relinquished  its  right  to  be  called 
the  Capron  place;  it  has  been  carried  down  from  one 
Capron  family  to  another  throughout  the  round  of  the 
century.  A  second  place  of  the  same  name,  over  which 
one  of  the  first  sons  presided,  was  maintained  for  a  time 
a  few  rods  to  the  northward,  but  it  was  finally  reduced 
to  ashes  and  has  never  been  rebuilt. 

In  the  records  of  the  town  of  Rutland  is  the  copy 
of  a  deed  in  which  Adam  Hinsman,  of  Southbury,  Conn., 
conveyed  to  Benjamin  Mclntire  sixty  acres  of  land. 
It  is  likewise  recorded  that  Caleb  Whipple,  of  Rutland, 
deeded  to  Benjamin  Mclntire  two  tracts,  including 
the  Falls  of  the  Otter  Creek,  which  he  had  previously 
purchased  of  Peter  Sutherland.  Looking  through  these 
musty  pages  back  into  the  past  we  get  the  impression 
that  Mr.  Mclntire,  whatever  else  he  may  have  lacked, 
was  well  provided  with  land  and  water.  He  chose  as 
his  headquarters  a  little  square  of  ground,  bordering  on 
the  South  street  of  later  years.  Perhaps  even  now  in 
Robert  McGregor's  cellar  are  some  of  the  same  stones 
which  the  earlier  settler  collected,  for  the  one  founda- 
tion rose  upon  the  decayed,  blackened  ruins  of  the 
other.  The  Mclntire  structure  burned  in  the  early 
forties.  The  barn  lay  to  the  south  of  the  house  where 
now  the  Catholic  rectory  raises  its  head  above  the  trees. 


56  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

There  is  no  one  to  tell  us  as  to  when  and  where  Benja- 
min Mclntire  died,  and  his  land  has  long  since  been 
divided  up  into  building  lots  and  ball  grounds  and 
cemeteries.  Warner's  Grove  was  once  a  part  of  his  estate. 

Twelve  years  after  acquiring  this  Sutherland  Falls 
property  he  deeded  his  entire  farm  to  his  daughter, 
Sarah  Ann  Mclntire,  who  was  the  wife  of  Jesse  Paul. 
A  little  postscript  was  added  to  the  contract  stating 
that  whenever  the  daughter  and  son-in-law  failed  to 
provide  suitably  for  the  Mclntire  family,  the  deed 
should  become  void.  Apparently  this  was  a  rare  ex- 
pression of  foresight,  for  at  the  expiration  of  three 
years  the  farm  was  deeded  back  to  the  father.  In  describ- 
ing the  boundary  line  there  is  reference  inevitably  to 
the  usual  number  of  dry  pines,  white  oaks,  and  sticks 
and  stones,  but  we  are  informed  also  that  it  was  bound- 
ed on  the  south  by  Isaac  Chatterton's  land  and  on  the 
north  by  the  land  of  Israel  Pennock,  all  three  prop- 
erties being  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Otter  Creek. 

This  man  Pennock  was  another  of  the  town's 
pioneers.  He  bought  his  first  real  estate  of  Benjamin 
Mclntire  in  1813  and  between  that  year  and  1818  he 
made  four  additions  to  it.  In  18 17  he  bargained  with 
Peter  Sutherland  for  a  five  acre  plot  and  reared  a  house 
thereon,  the  house  which  gave  way  in  turn  to  the 
Ormsbee  dwelling  and  the  Proctor  Memorial  Library. 
Let  it  not  be  understood  that  the  Library  has  the  same 
relative  position  as  the  Pennock  cabin.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  older  landmark  was  several  rods  to  the  north- 
ward. According  to  no  less  an  authority  than  Mr.  Ham- 
ilton Ormsbee,  a  son  who  was  born  and  reared  there 
where  the  road  turns  down  to  the  bridge,  the  kitchen 
of  the  little  Ormsbee  cottage  was  moved  over  from  the 
flat  at  the  top  of  Patch  Hill.  He  remembers  that  in  his 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  57 

boyhood  days  the  spot  was  disfigured  by  an  old  cellar 
hole.  That  undoubtedly  was  the  hole  in  which  Israel 
Pennock  grounded  his  chimney.  The  tradition  is  that 
the  first  religious  service  in  town  was  opened  in  Mr. 
Pennock's  barn,  which  was  situated  across  the  road  and 
farther  up  the  hill  near  the  Fletcher  Proctor  residence. 

Reverting  again  to  that  Mclntire  deed,  we  learn 
that  a  part  of  East  Mountain  was  then  owned  by 
Chauncy  D.  Tuttle.  How  long  he  had  been  there  is 
another  one  of  the  uncertainties.  Let  us  give  him  the 
benefit  of  the  doubt,  assuming  that  he  arrived  prior 
to  1820,  and  so  grant  him  a  place  in  the  first  division 
•of  the  town's  progenitors.  Back  of  the  ball  grounds 
at  Warner's  Grove  is  a  sightly  knoll,  indented  with 
what  must  have  once  been  the  cellar  of  the  Tuttle 
house.  It  was  old  when  the  settlement  was  young. 
There  it  was  that  N.  S.  Warner,  father  of  Myron 
Warner,  lived  while  the  Peter  Morganson  house  was 
being  finished. 

Of  another  old  cellar  farther  up  the  mountain — 
the  one  which  has  raised  to  maturity  a  gigantic  butter- 
nut tree — still  less  is  known.  It  is  past  the  halfway 
mark  on  the  climb  to  the  summit  and  almost  directly 
east  from  the  railway  station.  Rumor  has  it  that  the 
house  which  once  kept  it  company  was  the  home  of 
Jesse  Paul,  Mclntire's  son-in-law,  but  rumor  at  best 
is  poor  history,  so  really  there  is  no  reason  why  Paul 
should  be  dragged  into  this  paragraph. 

In  the  old  burying  ground  at  Center  Rutland, 
closed  in  by  the  railroad  and  the  highway,  are  the 
graves  of  Leverett  Chatterton,  Israel  Pennock  and 
Jesse  Paul.  Anyone  who  cares  to  dig  into  the  wild  rose 
briars  and  dead  grass  may  read  the  marble  slabs — 
tablets  which  were  placed  there,  so  the  inscriptions 
tell  us,  in  the  years  1827,  1829  and  1852. 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  PIONEERS  59 

The  first  farm  north  of  Cummings  Manor  is  now 
called  the  Wilkins  farm,  but  back  in  1869  it  was  known 
as  the  Nahum  Johnson  place.  Still  farther  back,  in 
1 8 13,  when  it  was  built,  and  for  many  years  thereafter, 
its  title  was  in  the  hands  of  John  Johnson.  Johnson, 
senior,  was  one  of  those  who  came  up  from  the  Say- 
brook  Colony,  Connecticut,  in  ox  teams.  In  1773  he 
rolled  into  West  Rutland,  and  there  he  remained  for 
forty-six  years,  until  the  house  on  the  West  Road  opened 
its  doors  to  admit  him.  During  this  time  he  became 
prominent  in  the  community  both  as  a  man  and  a 
public  official.  The  same  fidelity  and  good  judgment 
which  had  made  him  an  efficient  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary period,  gave  him  exceptional  capacity  in  other 
lines. 

To  write  again  of  the  days  of  seventy-six  is  to  re- 
call that  while  these  primal  families  were  converting 
the  wilderness  into  something  a  little  less  somber  and 
threatening,  the  country  at  large  was  throwing  ofi^  its 
coat  and  buckling  down  to  the  business  of  making  a 
name  for  itself.  Not  only  had  it  finished  the  Revolution 
triumphantly  but  another  war  as  well.* 

Vermont  had  been  admitted  to  the  Union  and  was 
making  of  herself  a  creditable  unit,  and  one  which 
insisted  on  being  heard.  Even  little  Sutherland  Falls 


*When,  in  September,  1814,  the  call  was  relayed  down  the  valley  for  volunteers 
to  take  part  in  the  Battle  of  Plattsburg,  two  of  the  Falls  men  who  responded  were 
R.  M.  Powers  and  his  son,  Richard  Montgomery,  second.  With  others  from  this 
section  they  tramped  to  the  lake  front,  all  except  Tilly  Walker,  who  was  one  of  the 
wagoners,  halting  finally  at  a  point  north  of  Burlington  on  the  banks  of  the  Winooski 
River.  There  they  were  obliged  to  remain,  for  the  boat  which  was  to  have  borne 
them  across  the  lake  was  late  in  arriving.  They  heard  the  thunder  of  the  guns,  and 
that  was  all.  It  was  while  they  were  waiting  there  on  the  Vermont  side  that  R.  M. 
Powers,  the  younger,  lost  his  life.  Blind  to  the  strong  under-current,  he  dove  into 
the  river  for  a  swim  and  was  swept  over  the  falls  to  his  death,  His  grave  is  in  the 
Burlington  cemetery,  near  the  spot  where  the  body  of  Ethan  Allen  was  laid  away. 


60  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

was  represented  at  the  council  fires  by  its  own  favored 
sons  of  the  forest.  The  rifle  trade  was  still  good  but  no 
longer  was  it  the  all-absorbing  thing.  Public  welfare 
came  in  for  casual  notice.  There  were  dreams  of  in- 
dustrial development. 

Notice  this  paragraph  taken  from  Mason's  History: 
"By  the  year  1794,  settlement  had  so  far  progressed 
and  stock  accumulated  that  it  was  deemed  necessary 
to  order  that  sheep  and  swine  should  not  be  permitted 
to  run  at  large.  Bridges  had  been  built  at  Sutherland 
Falls  and  Reynold's  Mill,  and  these  were  ordered  re- 
paired if  needed.  One  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds 
of  powder,  three  hundred  and  fifty-four  of  lead,  and 
four  hundred  and  fifty  flints  were  also  ordered  pur- 
chased; indicating  that  the  warlike  spirit  engendered 
by  the  Revolution  was  still  abroad." 

On  the  other  hand  the  records  show  that,  as  late  as 
1 818,  Peter  Sutherland  conveyed  by  deed  to  Solomon 
Gill  of  Rutland  the  sole  water  rights  on  the  east  side 
of  Sutherland  Falls.  The  paper  was  written  with  all 
the  legal  flourishes  which  the  transfer  of  a  continent 
might  demand.  It  was  majestically  set  forth  that  Peter 
Sutherland  proposed  to  "give,  grant,  bargain,  sell  and 
confirm  unto  the  said  Solomon,  his  heirs  and  assigns 
forever,  all  the  rights  and  privileges,  et  cetera."  And 
for  what  consideration.^  For  the  lofty  sum  of  eight  dol- 
lars. It  must  be  inferred  therefore  that  while  there  may 
have  been  dreams  of  industrial  expansion  in  1818  they 
were  so  far  removed  from  realities  as  to  keep  the  price 
of  power  sites  ridiculously  low.  In  these  days  eight 
dollars  would  be  hardly  enough  to  pay  for  the  writing 
of  the  contract. 


CHAPTER  III 
GROWTH  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT— 1820- 1849 

BUILDING    HIGHWAYS    AND     BRIDGES NEW    HOUSES 

ERECTED INDUSTRIAL     DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL 

CUSTOMS THE    COMING    OF   THE    RAILROAD 

DIFFICULTIES     OF     CONSTRUCTION FIRST 

TRAIN MIKE    EAGAN 

THE  Story  of  the  Military  Road  has  already 
been  told.  That  -was  the  initial  wedge  in  the 
opening  of  the  wilderness.  In  a  similar  way  the 
other  highways,  constructed  from  time  to  time,  gave 
fresh  incentive  to  the  work  of  stabilizing  the  settlement. 
They  were  not  much  like  the  easily  traversed  thorough- 
fares of  today.  Indeed  they  were  little  more  than 
tunnels  cut  through  the  almost  unlimited  woodland. 

As  it  appears  in  Caverly's  History  of  Pittsford, 
"the  early  roads  in  the  township,  like  those  in  other 
parts  of  the  new  country,  were  little  better  than  rude 
paths  in  the  wilderness.  A  narrow  passage  was  made 
by  cutting  away  trees  and  bushes,  and  streams  that 
could  not  be  easily  forded  were  bridged  with  logs.  No 
turnpike  welcomed  the  weary  travelers  and  no  toll- 
gatherer  laid  him  under  contribution;  his  progress  was 
measured  by  his  strength  and  power  of  muscular 
endurance." 

Yet  these  paths,  crude  though  they  were,  be- 
tokened an  advancing  civilization.  The  settlers  reas- 
oned, even  as  the  people  of  today,  that  living  near  a 

61 


62  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

poor  road  is  better  than  having  none  at  all  within 
reach.  And  so  each  fresh  channel  in  the  forest  became 
a  magnet,  drawing  unto  itself  a  broken  line  of  cabins. 

In  the  Laws  of  Vermont  for  1806  there  is  an  act 
which  appoints  and  instructs  a  committee  "to  lay  out 
and  survey  a  market  road,  the  most  convenient  and 
direct  route  to  Troy  in  the  state  of  New  York,  be- 
ginning at  or  near  Stephen  Hard's  Esquire's  in  Salis- 
bury, thence  through  the  towns  of  Leicester,  Brandon 
and  Pittsford  until  it  intersects  the  road  that  leads  from 
Rutland  to  Castleton." 

This  became  known  as  the  Market  Road.  It  passed 
through  Sutherland  Falls  on  the  west  side  of  Otter 
Creek.  It  is  nearest  approximated  today  by  the  road 
which  runs  from  Brandon  to  Florence,  then  past  the 
Lewis  White  place  and  Beaver  Pond,  continuing  on  to 
the  Rutland  line.  This,  so  far  as  it  had  to  do  with 
Sutherland  Falls,  was  virtually  a  duplication  of  the  old 
Military  Highway.  The  chief  purpose  in  opening  it 
was  to  provide  that  section  of  country  around  Salisbury 
with  a  market  outlet,  since  that  part  of  the  valley  had 
been  left  in  isolation  when  the  military  turnpike 
swerved  off  to  the  westward. 

In  the  course  of  time  little  branches  were  pushed 
out  from  this  parent  stem.  It  is  a  well-grounded  tradi- 
tion that  one  of  these  offshoots  trailed  up  over  the  crest 
of  East  Mountain.  Another  switched  off  at  the  Hum- 
phrey place,  wound  up  through  the  sugar  wood  and  the 
hollow  south  of  the  parsonage,  turning  up  the  hill  north 
of  the  Union  Church  and  coming  out  at  the  Sutherland 
house.  Another  looped  around  through  the  knolls  and 
hollows  which  are  now  covered  by  the  marble  yards, 
crossing  the  brook  from  Beaver  Pond  and  joining  the 
Sutherland  Mills  with  the  Market  Road. 


GROWTH  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT  63 

The  Proctor  Road  Book  contains  surveys  of  the 
valley  road  between  Rutland  and  Pittsford,  one  sec- 
tion of  which  was  laid  out  in  1807  and  the  other  in 
1 8 16,  both  on  the  east  side  of  Otter  Creek.  The  survey 
of  1807  led  up  the  mountain  at  the  foot  of  Patch  Hill, 
and  curved  around  by  the  Tuttle  house,  dropping 
down  to  the  lower  level  again  near  the  Dodge  farm. 

In  the  old  Pittsford  records  we  read  that  in  the 
south  part  of  the  town  a  road  was  laid  out  extending 
from  the  Military  Road  a  little  east  of  the  residence  of 
Gideon  Cooley  to  the  Great  Falls.  Also  that  another 
road  was  laid  out  from  Mr.  Cooley's  to  Otter  Creek  near 
the  residence  of  Roger  Stevens.  A  crossing  was  made 
there,  sometimes  upon  a  jam  of  logs  which  then  existed 
and  sometimes  in  a  boat. 

This  recalls  the  early  experiences  of  the  pioneers  in 
the  arduous  work  of  bridge  building.  It  is  apparent 
that  bridges  gave  little  trouble  to  the  first  road  makers 
simply  because  they  left  them  out  of  the  plan.  It  was 
the  path  through  the  forest  that  counted;  the  river 
could  be  forded.  The  most  the  traveler  could  expect 
when  he  reached  the  water  was  that  the  stream  was 
fordable,  otherwise  the  trail  would  not  have  approached 
it  at  that  point. 

It  is  uncertain  as  to  where  the  first  bridge  timbers 
of  the  Valley  were  set  in  place,  but  this  much  is  known. 
There  was  a  framed  structure  of  some  sort  stretched 
across  the  Otter  on  the  site  of  the  Proctor  Memorial 
Bridge  as  early  as  1794.  It  went  out  in  the  great  flood 
of  181 1.  A  second  one  was  soon  in  place  and  this  was 
carried  over  the  falls  in  1839  as  a  result  of  defective 
stone  work  in  the  foundation. 

This  catastrophe  is  clearly  recalled  by  Mrs.  Mary 
Wheeler  Wright  of  Brandon.  At   that   time   she  was 


GROWTH  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT  65 

attending  school  in  the  old  Library  Building,  now  the 
Municipal  Memorial.  Mrs.  Hills  Taylor,  mother  of 
B.  F.  Taylor,  was  her  teacher.  Her  people  were  then 
living  in  the  Pennock,  or  Ormsbee  house.  After  a  part 
of  the  bridge  had  gone  over  the  falls  her  uncle,  S.  B. 
Loveland,  came  to  get  her  and  he  carried  her  home 
across  the  river  balancing  himself  on  the  few  timbers 
that  were  still  left  in  place.  Mrs.  Wright  remembers 
that  the  abutments  of  the  bridge  had  been  displaced 
by  ice.  In  this  latter  emergency  Hills  Taylor,  the  father 
of  B.  F.  Taylor,  opened  the  way  to  traffic  by  hauling 
beams  across  the  river  with  a  four-horse  team. 

Yet  this  was  only  a  temporary  makeshift  and  for 
a  time  there  was  a  break  in  the  road  at  Sutherland's. 
Miss  Julia  Humphrey  tells  of  a  daughter  of  Israel 
Pennock  who  was  drowned  in  1840  while  attempting 
to  cross  the  river  in  a  boat.  Since  there  was  no  bridge 
a  young  man  offered  to  pilot  her  to  the  other  side.  But 
in  some  way  the  boat  was  overturned  and  although  the 
man  finally  reached  the  shore  he  was  unable  to  save 
the  girl. 

In  1 841  came  the  covered  bridge  which  was  to  serve 
the  public  until  the  advent  of  the  marble  arches  in  191 5. 
It  was  constructed  by  Lewis  Wolcott  of  Pittsford. 

While  Wolcott  was  wrestling  with  his  overhead 
tunnel  above  Sutherland  Falls,  Nicholas  Powers,  the 
uncle  of  Harry  P.  Powers,  acting  as  inspector  for  the 
town  of  Rutland,  was  building  the  Gorham  bridge 
below  the  falls.  He  had  previously  pinned  together 
the  covered  bridge  at  Pittsford  Mills.  These  two 
products  of  his  hand  are  standing  today,  having  reached 
the  good  old  age  of  four-score  years.  The  achievement 
takes  on  added  glamor  when  it  is  revealed  that  Powers 
had  never  even  seen  a  covered  bridge  when  he  took  the 
contract  at  Pittsford  Mills. 


GROWTH  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT  67 

It  was  to  be  his  fortune  to  see  many  more  before 
he  died.  He  became  known  the  country  over  for  his 
work  along  those  lines.  At  Blenheim,  N.  Y.,  he  raised 
a  single-span  wooden  bridge  that  was  231  feet  between 
abutments,  the  largest  single  span  on  record  at  that 
time.  In  1866  he  superintended  the  framing  of  a  bridge 
across  the  Susquehanna  in  Maryland  which  was  seven- 
eighths  of  a  mile  in  length. 

In  passing  it  should  be  noted  that  the  first  bridge 
at  Sutherland  Falls,  which  by  the  way  was  known  as 
the  Union  Bridge,  was  destroyed  by  the  great  flood 
of  181 1.  This  is  described  very  picturesquely  by  Dr. 
Caverly  of  Pittsford. 

"About  the  nth  of  July  occurred  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  floods  that  has  ever  visited  this  section  of 
the  country.  It  commenced  early  in  the  morning  with 
a  succession  of  thunder  showers.  Towards  noon  the 
clouds  gathered  blackness,  the  rain  descended  in  tor- 
rents and  during  the  afternoon  and  the  following  night 
it  seemed  as  though  the  fountains  of  the  deep  were 
broken  up.  The  next  morning  the  rain  ceased  and  the 
clouds  cleared  away,  but  the  roads  were  so  washed  in 
many  places  as  to  be  impassable  and  the  streams  were 
overflowing  their  banks,  spreading  devastation  and 
ruin  in  every  direction. 

"Otter  Creek  rose  to  an  unprecedented  height,  the 
waters  overflowing  the  intervals  to  a  vast  extent  on 
either  side.  When  at  the  highest  pitch  they  washed 
the  door  sills  of  the  house  of  Stephen  Mead  on  the 
west  side,  and  boats  were  propelled  on  the  line  of  the 
highway  from  Milton  Potter's  to  Mr.  Mead's.  The 
bridge  near  Mrs.  Cooley's  as  well  as  the  Walker  and 
Hammond  bridges  were  swept  away;  but  the  Mead 
bridge  was  by  great  exertions  saved,  though  its  struc- 


GROWTH  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT  69 

ture  was  greatly  damaged.  When  it  was  perceived 
that  this  was  seriously  endangered  the  neighboring 
inhabitants  turned  out  and  having  taken  up  the  planks 
piled  heavy  timbers  on  the  rails  so  that  the  superin- 
cumbent weight  was  sufficient  to  resist  the  force  and 
uplifting  power  of  the  water. 

"At  a  special  meeting  called  on  the  3rd  of  Septem- 
ber the  town  voted  to  raise  two  cents  on  a  dollar  on 
the  list  of  181 1,  payable  in  grain  the  first  of  January, 
1 81 2,  and  two  cents  on  a  dollar  on  the  list  of  1812,  pay- 
able in  grain  the  first  of  January,  18 13,  to  rebuild  and 
repair  the  four  large  bridges  in  said  town  carried  off 
by  the  late  freshet  and  to  defray  other  expenses.  Voted 
that  the  selectmen  with  the  addition  of  Adget  Lathrop 
and  Ashbel  Lee  be  a  committee  to  superintend  the 
building  and  repairing  of  the  bridges  aforesaid." 

In  1849  when  the  railroad  nosed  its  way  down 
through  the  valley  there  were  eighteen  houses  in  the 
village  of  Sutherland  Falls.  This  is  the  testimony  of 
Myron  Warner,  one  of  the  oldest  residents.  Some  of 
these  homes  have  already  been  brought  into  the  story. 
Nearly  all  of  the  new  ones  were  born  of  the  mill  yards. 
Three  of  them  were  in  the  hollow  north  of  the  old  Li- 
brary (Municipal  Memorial).  Two  stood  on  the  ledge 
west  of  the  building  shop.  South  or  southwest  of  the 
Sutherland  Falls  quarry  were  three  more.  Still  farther 
south  was  the  Hills  Taylor  house  which  is  standing 
today  across  the  railway  track  from  the  grist  mill,  and 
in  the  fork  of  the  roads  north  of  McGary's  store  was 
the  Samuel  Kelley  or  W^illiam  Maynard  place. 

Samuel  Kelley,  prior  to  1837,  lived  in  a  little  cabin 
which  was  perched  on  the  knoll  opposite  what  is  now 
the  Erik  Lundquist  lot.  This  South  Street  house  was 
not  built  by  Kelley  but  by  someone  who  settled  there 


70  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

at  an  earlier  day.  Possibly  it  should  have  been  con- 
sidered among  the  first  settlements  of  the  neighborhood. 
Joseph  Kelley  of  Brandon,  a  son  of  Samuel  Kelley, 
maintains  that  it  was  a  log  cabin;  other  old  residents 
are  equally  insistent  that  it  was  a  product  of  the  saw 
mill.  In  any  event  it  has  long  since  faded  away  into 
the  hazy  past.  The  roof  collapsed  in  1852  and  no  one 
intervened  to  save  it  from  ruin. 

East  of  what  is  now  the  Vermont  Marble  Com- 
pany's office  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  railway  track 
stood  a  small  brick  building  which  was  used  as  a  post 
office  as  early  as  1848.  Undoubtedly  this  was  Uncle 
Sam's  first  agency  in  Sutherland  Falls  although  no 
postmaster  was  officially  assigned  to  the  post  until  1855. 

As  for  the  industries  of  the  town  in  those  days,  the 
Sutherland  saw  mill  was  in  ruins  in  1840.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  the  grist  mill  struggled  on  to  a  somewhat 
later  period.  A  little  west  of  the  saw  mill  stood  a  wool 
carding  factory,  also  a  forge  shop  for  the  manufacture 
of  bar  iron,  picks  and  unwrought  nails.  Both  these 
later  plants  derived  their  power  from  a  dam  in  the 
Beaver  Pond  Brook.  They  were  operated  by  a  man 
named  Spud  Leonard  and  everything,  even  the  nails, 
was  hammered  out  by  hand.  A  part  of  the  iron  used  in 
the  shop  was  dug  out  of  the  hill  north  of  the  Humphrey 
farm  house.  Another  basis  of  supply  was  in  Pittsford 
and  some  of  it  was  even  drawn  by  team  from  Crown 
Point,  N.  Y.  Profits  must  have  been  rather  meager, 
particularly  on  the  Crown  Point  output,  for  the  finished 
product  had  to  be  hauled  back  to  Troy  before  it  could 
be  marketed.  It  was  but  logical  therefore  that  the 
forge  should  go  the  way  of  the  saw  mill  and  that  the 
carding  shop  should  finally  close  its  doors. 

At  one  time  in  the  early  forties  there  was  a  lime 


GROWTH  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT 


71 


kiln  where  the  Company's  office  was  destined^to  rise. 
Another  concern  had  an  outfit  for  the  manufacture  of 
potash.  On  the  mountain  east  of  the  falls  were  pits 
for  the  burning  of  charcoal.  At  the  cross  roads  in  Pitts- 
ford  near  the  school  house  was  a  tannery  and  shoe  shop 
run  by  N.  S.  Warner,  the  father  of  Myron  Warner.  la 


MARKER  ON  MENDON  ROAD  SHOWING  LIMIT  OF  RUT- 
LAND JAIL  YARD   IN  1840 

1820  Robert  Wright  built  the  town's  third  distillery 
but  even  this  was  abandoned  after  a  few  years  of  ac- 
tivity. So  it  seems  that  while  the  pioneers  around 
the  falls  tried  their  hands  at  a  diversity  of  industries^ 
nearly  all  of  them  ended  in  the  debtor's  court. 


73  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

In  those  unelastic  times  men  could  be  imprisoned 
for  debt.  In  Book  14  of  the  Rutland  Records  it  is  set 
forth  that  the  Jesse  Paul  farm  was  mortgaged  to  Francis 
Slason  and  that  Paul,  being  unable  to  pay,  was  placed 
behind  the  bars  in  1835.  This  is  the  way  the  judgment 
of  the  court  was  worded: 

"You  are  commanded  to  take  the  body  of  the 
said  Jesse  Paul  and  him  to  comrnit  to  the  keeper  of 
the  jail  in  Rutland." 

This  is  not  saying  that  he  would  be  cast  into  a 
dungeon.  Theoretically  he  would  be  a  prisoner  but  in 
actual  practice  he  might  be  let  out  within  what  were 
termed  jail  limits,  thus  giving  him  a  chance  to  work 
and  cancel  the  indebtedness. 

The  **jail  limits"  for  Rutland  were  a  series  of  marble 
posts  which  marked  the  town  line  between  Rutland 
and  Pittsford.  Each  post  was  about  two  feet  long  and 
four  inches  square  with  a  letter  "J"  cut  in  the  top. 
Prisoners  were  allowed  their  freedom  so  long  as  they 
kept  within  the  posts.  This  gave  them  a  six  mile  area 
in  which  to  labor.  If  they  overstepped,  they  were  run 
down  and  placed  in  confinement. 

One  of  these  posts  was  discovered  in  191 5  by  H. 
P.  Powers  and  F.  B.  Kingsbury.  It  was  still  keeping 
guard  on  the  steep  hill  east  of  Beaver  Pond.  The  others 
in  this  vicinity  have  either  been  buried  or  carted  away. 
One  was  set  thirty  or  forty  rods  north  of  the  Sutherland 
Falls  quarry;  another  was  near  the  west  bank  of  the 
Otter.  It  seems  a  pity  that  more  of  them  could  not 
have  been  kept  on  display  as  reminders  of  that  period 
in  our  development  when  debt-paying  was  regarded 
as  an  abiding  duty. 

As  an  example  of  the  treachery  of  fortune  it 
should  perhaps  be  pointed  out  that  Francis  Slawson, 


GROWTH  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT  73 

himself,  was  walking  inside  those  posts  within  an  in- 
credibly short  number  of  years.  He  had  become  inter- 
ested in  the  marble  business  and  been  caught  in  finan- 
cial undercurrents.  He  was  then  living  in  West  Rut- 
land. He  assured  the  court  that  by  continuing  his 
business  at  Sutherland  Falls  he  could  right  himself. 
He  was  given  the  chance  and  there  within  jail  limits  he 
freed  himself  from  his  creditors  and  took  his  place  again 
among  the  respected  classes. 

The  year  1849  was  memorable  for  at  least  two 
reasons;  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  and  the 
completion  of  the  Rutland  &  Burlington  railroad.  To 
the  dwellers  in  the  Otter  Creek  valley  there  was  little 
question  as  to  which  of  these  events  was  most  epochal. 
The  gold  was  far  away  but  the  iron  track  was  near  and 
it  verified  the  existence  of  a  world  of  commerce.  It 
offered  as  they  fancied  a  new  order  in  transportation 
facilities. 

Even  in  these  days  of  mechanical  genius,  the  crea- 
tion of  a  railroad  is  an  undertaking  of  recognized  mag- 
nitude. Obviously  it  must  have  been  more  of  a  problem 
in  forty-nine  when  nearly  everything  was  measured 
in  terms  of  hand  labor.  Truly  it  was  a  mighty  effort 
which  brought  the  Rutland  &  Burlington  road  into 
being. 

The  worst  cut  on  the  entire  line  was  the  rocky  ledge 
north  of  Sutherland  Falls.  And  how  was  this  con- 
quered.'' Not  by  steam  or  compressed  air  but  by  actual 
brawn.  Stagings  were  raised  on  the  rocks  one  above  the 
other  and  there  gangs  of  men  kept  hammering  with 
long  hand  drills,  incessantly,  day  after  day,  until  the 
required  level  had  been  reached.  It  would  be  interesting 
to  look  into  the  books  of  that  early  railway  corporation 
and  see  how  much  time  was  allotted  to  that  one  cut, 


THE  HILLS-TAYLOR   HOUSE,   BUILT  IN   1840 

THE  KELLY,  OR  MAYNARD  HOUSE,  BUILT  ABOUT  1830 

THE  ORMSBEE  HOUSE,  BUILT  ABOUT  1&30 


GROWTH  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT  75 

but  those  pages  like  the  road  itself  have  been  handed 
down  from  owner  to  owner  until  there  must  be  little 
left  of  them. 

The  last  spike  was  driven  home  in  the  fall  of  forty- 
nine  and  a  train  of  cars  rolled  into  Pittsford  for  the 
first  time  on  the  19th  of  October.  It  had  crawled  down 
from  Burlington  and  for  some  unexplained  reason  it 
remained  over  night  in  Pittsford,  laboring  on  to  Rut- 
land the  next  forenoon.  Possibly  they  ran  out  of  water 
and  were  forced  to  fill  the  boiler  from  the  river.  Or 
they  may  have  been  ahead  of  their  schedule,  although 
if  later  experiences  may  be  taken  as  a  criterion  this  is 
hardly  possible.  Whatever  may  have  caused  the  over- 
night halt  there  is  no  intimation  that  the  passengers 
were  disgusted  or  that  they  objected  to  the  sleeping 
accommodations  which  the  road  afforded. 

The  engine  which  pulled  the  train  bore  the  flaming 
title  of  "Red  Bird."  Here  again  we  are  in  a  quandary 
as  to  why  a  locomotive  should  be  connected  with  so 
fanciful  a  name.  It  may  be  that  in  the  last  days  of  con- 
struction the  painters  were  out  of  everything  but  red 
and  that  the  officials  were  thus  compelled  to  bring 
that  color  into  the  name.  Surely  the  word  ''bird" 
could  not  have  been  adopted  as  an  augury  of  latent 
ease  of  motion  or  speed. 

In  September,  191 5,  the  Rutland  News  published 
an  interview  with  Daniel  Austin,  one  of  the  town's 
oldest  men.  Among  other  things  it  gives  a  colorful 
picture  of  the  outstanding  achievement  of  1849. 

"The  Rutland  &  Burlington  railroad  was  com- 
pleted as  far  north  as  Burlington  and  to  celebrate  that 
event  the  road  off^ered  a  free  ride  to  anyone  who  wished 
to  visit  the  terminal.  Mr.  Austin  took  advantage  of 
the    privilege    to    spend    some    time    with    his    people 


76  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

there.  The  occasion  was  a  great  one,  and  great  were 
the  'doings'  in  the  village  of  Burlington  when  the  first 
visitors  arrived  by  rail.  Every  tavern,  boarding  house 
and  private  house  were  filled  and  Mr.  Austin  and  his 
party  were  obliged  to  drive  to  Winooski  in  order  to 
^nd  beds  on  the  night  of  their  arrival.  Gatherings 
with  speeches  and  fireworks  marked  the  passing  of  the 
stage." 

At  the  outset  the  service  was  usually  limited  to  one 
train  a  day.  Sutherland  Falls  was  only  a  flag  station 
and  had  little  more  than  a  platform  on  which  to  send 
off  and  receive  its  passengers.  Mike  Eagan  was  the 
first  agent  of  the  railroad  company  to  take  out  a  resi- 
dence in  Sutherland  Falls,  if  indeed  the  little  shanty 
in  which  he  dwelt  may  be  granted  any  such  title.  It 
was  situated  on  the  river  side  of  the  railway  track 
north-east  of  the  Old  Library  Building  (Municipal 
Memorial).  It  is  the  judgment  of  those  who  are  more 
or  less  in  touch  with  the  early  traditions  of  the  town 
that  Mike  Eagan  was  one  of  the  real  characters  of  his 
period. 

In  reality  that  first  locomotive  which  steamed  into 
Sutherland  Falls  was  not  a  Red  Bird  at  all.  It  was  a 
Blue  Bird,  a  symbol  of  happiness,  the  happiness  which 
comes  through  anticipated  prosperity.  That  was  how 
it  looked  to  the  industrial  pioneers  on  the  day  of  its 
dedication.  But  with  the  passing  of  time  these  same 
pioneers  were  ready  to  swear  that  it  had  changed  color. 
To  them  it  was  transformed  into  a  Black  Bird,  an 
omen  of  gloom,  simply  because  they  had  trusted  too 
much  to  the  railroad  and  had  given  too  little  considera- 
tion to  the  principles  of  organization  and  distribution 
on  which  modern  industry  has  been  founded.  For 
twenty-five  years  after  that  gala  day  in  1849  the  busi- 


GROWTH  OF  T?1E  SETTLEMENT  77 

ness  interests  at  Sutherland  Falls  were  in  a  state  of 
perpetual  uncertainty.  There  were  many  dreams  but 
few  realities — a  few  partial  successes  and  more  failures. 

Looking  at  this  period  from  another  angle,  while 
it  may  have  been  somewhat  barren  from  an  industrial 
viewpoint,  it  was  considerably  more  productive  as  an 
experiment  in  social  betterment.  The  inhabitants  of 
the  valley,  especially  those  who  had  congregated 
around  the  Falls  in  answer  to  the  siren  calls  of  the 
short-lived  mills  and  shops,  were  broadening  into  a 
more  presentable  community.  They  were  casting  off 
the  habits  of  the  wilderness  and  working  back  again 
to  the  ways  of  civilization.  Moreover,  they  were  in- 
augurating certain  customs  which  had  been  impossible 
when  the  houses  were  scattered  and  out  of  touch  with 
one   another. 

In  1870  the  town  of  Rutland  celebrated  its  one 
hundredth  anniversary.  Speaking  at  that  time  the 
Rev.  John  Todd  drew  this  parallel  between  the  old 
and  what  was  then  the  new: 

"Go  back  a  century,"  he  declared,  "when  the 
white  man  plunged  tremblingly  into  the  forest  and 
came  to  the  spot  where  the  beautiful  town  now  stands. 
His  first  object  is  to  find  a  spring  of  water — near  which 
he  is  to  erect  his  little  log  cabin.  There  are  no  roads  but 
the  trail  of  the  Indian.  There  are  no  neighbors — no 
forests  yet  cut  down,  no  fields  sown,  no  mills  to  grind 
his  food  or  saw  his  lumber;  no  trading  post  where  he 
may  relieve  a  want;  no  physician  when  he  is  sick; 
no  school  for  his  child;  no  property  by  which  he  can 
supply  his  necessities.  His  music  is  the  ring  of  the  axe, 
and  the  falling  of  the  trees.  The  night  is  made  more 
solitary  by  the  hooting  of  the  owl  and  the  scream  of  the 
wild  beast.  When  he  buries  his  dead  he  himself  must 


78  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

make  the  coffin,  dig  the  grave,  and  without  a  bell  to 
toll,  or  a  minister  to  offer  a  prayer,  he  must  bury  the 
dead  under  a  tall  tree.  The  pioneer  must  struggle  with 
poverty,  take  nature  in  the  rough,  let  sunshine  into  his 
house  and  heart  by  his  own  industry  and  struggles. 
His  food  is  the  plainest,  his  dress  is  the  simplest,  his 
home  is  the  most  humble,  and  the  only  thing  that  cheers 
him  is  a  hope  that  his  children  will  reap  the  benefit  of  all 
this  self-denial. 

"Go  there  a  century  after  this.  That  beginning 
has  become  a  mighty  power.  The  same  old  mountains 
lift  themselves  up  there  but  the  forests  are  gone,  the 
pleasant  roads  and  bridges  are  all  built,  and  a  town, 
growing,  thriving,  prosperous,  is  there.  The  fields  are 
under  high  culture,  the  meadows  glow  with  promise 
and  the  town  sits  like  a  queen  crowned  with  a  wealth 
of  beauty." 

Allowing  the  venerable  doctor  a  reasonable  lati- 
tude for  his  happy  allusion  to  the  glamor  and  prosperity 
of  1 870,  his  no  doubt  is  a  fair  portrayal  of  the  two  widely 
divergent  extremes.  Even  though  none  of  the  towns  of 
that  period  were  as  exalted  or  advanced  as  their  fathers 
believed  them  to  be,  they  were  at  least  getting  started. 
They  had  their  heads  out  of  the  wilderness  and  their 
faces  set  toward  the  light. 

That  at  best  was  all  that  could  be  accredited  to 
Sutherland  Falls.  It  had  done  nothing  memorable  but 
it  was  freeing  its  feet  from  the  underbrush  and  waiting 
for  the  opportune  moment. 


CHAPTER  IV 
SUTHERLAND  FALLS  IN  THE  SIXTIES 

DESCENDANTS   OF   FIRST  SETTLERS WAR  VOLUNTEERS ■ 

THE  ATLAS   MAP  OF   '69 A   RETROSPECT ON  THE 

THRESHOLD    OF    A    NEW    ERA 

IN  an  old  atlas  published  in  1869  there  is  a  map 
which  is  supposed  to  represent  the  building  devel- 
opment of  Sutherland  Falls  up  to  that  time.  By 
tracing  on  that  map  the  boundary  lines  of  Proctor  as 
they  stand  today  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  outline 
the  growth  of  the  community  for  another  twenty-year 
period.  Not  the  growth  in  wealth  but  a  casual  survey 
of  the  new  roofs  and  something  of  what  has  taken  place 
beneath  the  old  ones. 

Beginning  at  the  northern  outposts  of  the  settle- 
ment, the  Samuel  Crippen  property  had  passed  into  the 
control  of  Ransom  Burditt.  The  clumsy  cabin  had 
faded  away  and  in  its  place  rested  a  frame  structure. 
A  few  rods  away  was  another  house  owned  by  Ransom 
Burditt  which  was  rented  by  Austin  Shangraw.  Farther 
south  at  the  fork  of  the  roads  was  the  Lewis  White 
place,  the  same  white  house  which  Amos  Crippen,  the 
blacksmith,  had  conjured  out  of  the  uplands  in  18 14. 
Still  farther  south  and  down  toward  the  river  lived 
Eleazer  Chapin  Warner  on  what  had  once  been  called 
the  David  Crippen  farm.  Mr.  Warner  had  purchased 
this  estate  in  company  with  his  father,  Samuel  Warner, 
and  his  brother,  Nathan  Smith  Warner;  then  in  1841  he 

79 


REPRODUCED    FROM    AN    ATLAS    MAP    OF    1869,    WITH    DOTTED    LINES 
ADDED  TO   INDICATE   PRESENT   BOUNDARIES  OF   PROCTOR 


SUTHERLAND  FALLS  IN  THE  SIXTIES  81 

had  bought  out  their  interests  and  become  sole  owner. 
The  next  house  on  the  road  to  the  Falls  was  that  of 
Artemus  C.  Powers,  the  farm  of  James  Ewing  having 
descended  to  the  sons  of  R.  M.  Powers,  Artemus  and 
Jeremiah.  Five  houses  had  sprung  up  on  this  land 
relinquished  by  Ewing,  or  possibly  on  land  which  had 
been  added  to  the  estate.  Three  were  owned  by  A.  C. 
Powers  and  two  by  his  brother,  J.  C.  Powers.  The  one 
farthest  south  was  at  the  top  of  the  hill  on  the  western 
side  of  the  road  and  the  eminence  which  it  crowned  still 
upholds  the  title  of  "Powers'  Hill." 

Proceeding  south  on  the  West  Road  to  Center  Rut- 
land, first  came  the  Humphreys,  David  B.  and  Rawson 
S.,  living  apparently  in  separate  houses  on  the  old 
ancestral  estate.  Then  the  Meads — Joel  M.  Mead  on- 
the  section  now  operated  by  Will  Mead,  and  Horatio> 
Mead  on  what  has  since  become  known  as  the  Stephen 
Mead  place.  A  little  south  of  the  Double  Roads  Cross- 
ing was  the  Bradley  Reynolds  chimney.  Next  in  order 
were  the  two  Capron  cabins,  one  of  which  has  since 
been  swept  away  by  fire.  The  occupants  at  that  time 
were  W.  T.  and  L.  H.  Capron,  sons  of  Benjamin,  the 
early  settler.  On  the  John  Johnson  domain  several 
additional  cellars  had  been  walled  and  covered  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  second  generation.  Nahum  Johnson,, 
the  eldest  son  of  John,  was  established  in  the  old  home- 
stead. Cyrus,  another  son,  had  planted  his  hearthstone 
somewhat  nearer  Center  Rutland.  It  was  on  the  west 
side  of  the  road  not  far  from  the  entrance  to  Cummings- 
Manor.  Near  the  Nahum  Johnson  home  was  a  small 
house  built  by  A.  R.  Grinnell,  his  half  brother,  and  a 
little  farther  away  from  the  Cyrus  Johnson  place  was- 
the  dwelling  of  I.  L.  Daniel. 

Crossing  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  Creek,  the 


82  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

first  building  north  of  the  Double  Roads  was  under 
the  proprietorship  of  I.  C.  Reynolds.  This  site  is  now 
approximated  by  the  Vermont  Marble  Company's 
tenement  which  borders  the  west  side  of  the  road  north 
of  the  Riverside  quarry.  On  the  east  line  of  the  high- 
way was  the  habitation  of  Morris  Reynold,  a  property 
which  under  the  Company's  regime  still  wears  the  title 
of  "Reynolds  Farm."  The  house  at  the  top  of  the  hill, 
now  designated  the  Dodge  place,  was  tenanted  by  a 
brother-in-law  of  these  two  men,  Brigham  Proctor, 
who  in  turn  passed  it  along  to  H.  H.  Blakely.  Some 
would  have  it  that  these  three  Reynolds  homes  are 
standing  today,  that  the  old  frames  have  simply  been 
put  through  the  ordinary  crucible  of  repairing  and 
remodeling.  Be  that  as  it  may  they  show  how  the 
children  of  Morris  Reynolds,  senior,  combined  their 
efforts  and  worked  the  land  on  a  cooperative  plan. 
There  were  only  two  houses  between  the  Blakely  place 
and  the  Falls — the  L.  C.  Chatterton  stone  fortress, 
later  the  town  poor  farm,  and  the  N.  S.  Warner  resi- 
dence which  has  since  come  into  possession  of  Peter 
Morganson. 

At  the  foot  of  Patch  Hill  were  two  other  newcom- 
ers, J.  L.  Patch  and  William  Jones.  Mr.  Patch  moved 
to  the  Falls  from  Rutland  in  1865.  While  living  under 
the  shadow  of  the  hill  he  built  the  Ladabouche  house 
which  fronts  the  Proctor  Memorial  Library,  and  when 
that  was  completed  he  gave  up  the  old  for  the  new  and 
transferred  his  furniture  to  the  higher  level.  Thus 
originated  the  name  "Patch  Hill."  Other  incidents  of 
his  life  will  be  set  forth  in  the  chapter  on  the  marble 
industry. 

The  Patch  farm  house  later  became  the  home  of 
William  Manley  and  was  finally  moved  away  and  con- 


SUTHERLAND  FALLS  IN  THE  SIXTIES  83 

verted  into  two  separate  dwellings.  The  double  tene- 
ment which  today  stands  on  the  other  side  of  the  road 
was  made  out  of  the  old  barn  in  which  J.  L.  Patch 
herded  his  stock.  After  the  passing  of  the  Patch  estate 
the  land  on  which  the  buildings  stood  was  lowered 
fifteen  feet,  the  sand  being  transferred  by  tramway  to 
the  mills. 

More  or  less  mystery  enshrouded  the  hut  where 
William  or  ''Billy"  Jones  kept  bachelor's  hall.  He  was 
charged  by  the  gossips  with  being  a  deserter  from  the 
British  Army,  but  since  the  proof,  if  it  existed  at  all, 
was  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean,  no  one  was  disposed 
to  go  after  it.  So  he  was  allowed  to  go  in  and  out  with- 
out interference,  and  however  he  may  have  ignored 
the  call  of  the  Army  he  seemed  to  have  been  unwaver- 
ingly loyal  to  the  call  of  the  Falls.  It  is  said  that  he 
held  the  deed  to  five  or  six  acres,  kept  two  or  three 
cows,  made  his  own  butter,  did  his  own  cooking,  and 
that  he  was  quite  an  efficient  housekeeper,  maintaining 
an  order  within  his  shack  which  was  utterly  at  variance 
with  what  might  have  been  expected  of  him.  Tradition 
persisted  in  whispering  that  he  was  the  descendant  of 
a  rich  Irish  family  whose  ancestral  castle  was  not  far 
from  Dublin.  That  part  of  his  biography  however 
never  grew  into  anything  stronger  than  a  whisper. 

It  would  be  unfair  to  a  dawning  industry,  even 
though  that  part  of  the  story  has  been  reserved  for 
other  pages,  to  pass  over  this  atlas  map  of  sixty-nine 
without  pointing  out  some  of  the  quarry  holes  which 
had  broken  out  in  the  valley.  North  of  Beaver  Pond 
were  the  Shangraw  or  Mountain  Dark  and  the  Pine 
Hill  openings.  To  the  south  were  the  North  Rutland, 
or  Columbian,  near  the  Humphreys,  and  the  Clement 
and  Son,  and  the  Green  Mountain  across  the  road  and 


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SUTHERLAND  FALLS  IN  THE  SIXTIES  85 

slightly  to  the  south  from  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Riverside  quarry.  Then  there  was  the  Sutherland  Falls 
quarry  within  reach  of  the  Falls,  where  through  a 
strange  twist  of  nature  the  blocks  and  the  sawing 
power  had  been  so  faultlessly  linked  together. 

This  marble  working  activity  was  bringing  men 
to  the  Falls  who  would  not  otherwise  have  come.  In 
number  of  buildings  the  village  was  but  little  richer 
than  in  the  days  of  forty-nine,  but  the  names  were 
changed,  and  almost  without  exception  they  wer^ 
names  connected  in  some  way  with  the  marble  business. 
T.  J.  Ormsbee,  whose  cottage  has  since  been  replaced 
by  the  library;  C.  H.  Osborn  who  lived  where  Senator 
Proctor  was  to  rear  his  home;  Fayette  Vaughan;  A.  F. 
Manley;  S.  M.  Dorr;  J.  J.  Myers;  all  of  these  workers 
were  given  a  place  on  the  old  atlas  map  and  back  of 
them  like  eternal  question  marks  were  ranged  the 
Sutherland  Falls  Marble  Co.,  the  Empire  Marble  Co., 
Dorr  &  Myers  and  others  of  their  kind.  The  question 
was:  would  they  be  able  to  fight  their  respective  ways 
out  of  the  gloom  of  uncertainty  up  to  a  stable  profitable 
basis?  But  this  belongs  in  the  following  chapter.  It  has 
simply  thrust  itself  in  at  this  point  because  of  its  eager- 
ness to  get  into  the  story. 

Looking  over  the  town  in  this  rather  cursory  fash- 
ion, one  fact  stands  out  above  all  others.  At  almost 
every  point  where  a  home  was  started  in  the  early  days 
of  the  wilderness  it  was  still  being  maintained  in  1869. 
Usually  it  was  being  kept  alive  by  descendants  of  the 
pioneers — sometimes  by  other  hands — but  whatever 
the  agency  it  was  being  guarded  and  expanded  in  pre- 
paration for  the  larger  demands  of  the  future.  :^It  was 
just  this  spirit  of  dogged  persistency  which  coi^verted 
the  valley  of  the  Otter  into  a  livable  country,  clearing 


SUTHERLAND  FALLS  IN  THE  SIXTIES  87 

away  the  fog  and  the  mgirshes  so  that  opportunity 
might  not  get  lost  in  the  mist. 

A  few  buildings  were  blotted  out  during  the  period 
but  this  may  have  been  due  to  the  barrenness  of  the 
surroundings  rather  than  to  any  fickleness  of  intention. 
The  first  cabins  raised  by  R.  M.  Powers  and  Roger 
Stevens  were  in  decay,  likewise  the  Benjamin  Mclntire 
house,  although  the  latter  loss  had  been  wrought  by 
fire.  And  the  roof  of  the  Samuel  Kelly  place  was  half 
way  to  the  cellar.  With  these  few  fatalities,  and  the 
possible  addition  of  the  Tuttle  home,  none  of  the  old 
buildings  had  been  permitted  to  fall  into  untimely  or 
unmarked  graves. 

The  Tuttle  place  was  last  occupied  by  an  old  her- 
mit named  Benjamin  Gould.  It  had  reached  the  stage 
where  no  one  else  wanted  it,  and  Gould  undoubtedly 
was  allowed  to  do  as  he  pleased  with  it.  Unlike  Billy 
Jones  his  methods  of  housekeeping  were  not  of  the 
spotless  variety,  and  if  you  ask  any  old  resident  about 
the  conditions  inside  the  Gould  hut,  it  will  invariably 
evoke  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders  or  some  other  expression 
of  disgust.  It  may  be  assumed  therefore  that  Mr. 
Gould's  reputation  in  the  community  was  not  of  the 
best. 

His  chief  claim  to  distinction  rested  on  his  building 
activities,  or  rather  on  a  single  constructive  achieve- 
ment. It  seems  that  as  time  went  on  the  Tuttle  house 
grew  so  decrepit  and  full  of  holes  that  even  Gould  con- 
sidered it  unfit  as  a  residence,  and  so  he  raised  a  hut 
of  his  own.  It  was  on  the  extreme  border  of  the  Ormsbee 
land  or,  to  speak  in  modern  terms,  on  Hospital  Hill  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Churchill  house.  There  was 
nothing  miraculous  about  the  shack  except  that  it 
went  up  with  Alladin-like  celerity.    It  was   built  in   a 


SUTHERLAND  FALLS  IN  THE  SIXTIES  89 

day,  so  they  say,  complete  from  foundation  to  saddle- 
boards,  and  furthermore  the  owner  has  been  credited 
with  the  statement  that  in  two  days  he  could  have  pro- 
duced as  good  a  house  as  anyone  might  wish  to  see. 
This  feat,  as  compared  with  the  ready-made  walls  and 
partitions  of  the  present,  looks  less  arduous  than  it 
really  was. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  during  the  years 
which  this  chapter  is  supposed  to  chronicle  the  nation 
was  thrust  into  a  great  conflict.  And  in  Sutherland 
Falls,  as  in  every  other  corner  of  Uncle  Sam's  dominion, 
men  were  infuriated  and  antagonized  by  the  great  god 
of  war.  The  Old  Library  Building  has  opened  its  doors 
to  more  than  one  war  meeting,  and  witnessed  many 
sacred  pledges  of  loyalty  and  sacrifice. 

Several  men  enlisted  from  the  Proctor  section  and 
went  out  with  the  first  division  in  1861.  M.  C.  Warner, 
Willard  S.  Humphrey,  Scott  Maynard,  Francis  Lada- 
bouche,  Martin  Brunson,  Charles  Stiles,  Joseph  White, 
Henry  E.  Wood — all  these  and  perhaps  more  were 
really  the  representatives  of  Sutherland  Falls,  although 
some  of  their  names  appear  on  the  roster  of  other  towns. 
Mr.  Warner  was  mustered  in  at  Burlington.  Brunson 
joined  the  sharp-shooters  and  afterward  became  a 
lieutenant.  Both  Warner  and  Stiles  went  first  to  Salis- 
bury, where  they  enlisted  in  what  was  then  known  as 
the  New  England  Cavalry.  Later,  after  it  had  been 
decided  to  organize  a  Vermont  regiment,  the  men  were 
transferred  to  the  Green  Mountain  Division.  Nearly 
all  the  volunteers  from  the  Falls  were  in  the  Second 
Vermont  Battery. 

It  is  inconceivable  to  picture  a  man  of  those  days 
as  lacking  proficiency  in  the  handling  of  firearms,  but 
it  seems  that  whatever  else  they  may  have  attained 


/V^       Uc, 


S>i^\i  -16  /^t- 


i<      O.      t-^A^^^    fiL. t^t^  f4^    h^r-i-.s^-^^  ,    J  . 


1-ETTER     WRITTEN     BY    REDFJELD     PROCTOR,    ACCEPTING     COMMISSION 
IN  5TH  VERMONT  REGIMENT 


SUTHERLAND  FALLS  IN  THE  SIXTIES  91 

they  were  free  from  the  taint  of  over-confidence.  Mr. 
Warner  relates  that  he  and  Stiles  often  met  on  the  level 
ground  at  the  base  of  Patch  Hill  for  an  hour  or  more 
of  target  practice.  The  target  was  placed  near  a  little 
knoll.  If  it  were  standing  today  it  would  be  in  the  way 
of  the  Greek  Church.  It  had  a  nine-inch  bullseye  and 
the  men  stood  eighty  rods  away. 

Many  other  men,  whose  lives  have  been  inter- 
woven in  varying  degrees  with  the  story  of  Proctor, 
gave  unstintedly  of  their  service  to  the  cause  of  the 
Union.  But  they  were  not  here  when  the  call  was 
sounded;  they  are  the  later  arrivals  in  the  valley.  As 
in  the  case  of  other  industrial  centers,  the  population 
is  subject  to  many  changes.  Veterans  have  come  and 
gone.  Some  have  set  out  from  here  on  the  last  great 
journey.  A  few  of  the  names  will  be  recorded  on  subse- 
quent pages,  but  by  far  the  greater  number  must  be 
dismissed  with  a  word  of  fervent  tribute. 

Among  the  photographs  which  carry  us  back  to 
the  fighting  days  is  one  which  reproduces  a  frayed  and 
faded  letter.  This  letter  was  written  at  Camp  Advance, 
Sept.  28,  1 861,  and  addressed  to  Erastus  Fairbanks, 
Governor  of  Vermont.  It  reads  as  follows: 

"Your  favor  of  the  25  inst.  tendering  me  the  ap- 
pointmentof  Major  in  the  5th  Vermont  Regiment  is  rec'd. 

"With  a  deep  sense  of  responsibility  of  the  position 
and  of  my  own  unfitness  for  it,  but  hoping  to  be  guided 
and  sustained  by  higher  than  earthly  power,  I  accept 
the  position. 

"Thanking  you  for  the  appointment  and  for  the 
very  kind  terms  in  which  you  were  pleased  to  offer  it, 
I  wait  your  orders  to  report  to  the  Colonel  of  the 
Regiment."  Very  Res'p'y  your  Ob't  Servant, 

Redfield  Proctor. 


SUTHERLAND  FALLS  IN  THE  SIXTIES  93 

There  is  more  in  this  letter  than  simply  the  accept- 
ance of  a  commission  in  the  army.  There  is  an  index 
of  those  qualities  of  humility,  directness  and  fortitude 
which  were  so  richly  dominant  in  the  later  life  of  Sena- 
tor Proctor,  the  qualities  which  made  of  him  a  valued 
officer  in  the  service  of  his  country  and  an  industrial 
pioneer  of  the  highest  type.  It  would  be  unjust  to  the 
man  and  the  town  to  hurry  over  this  period  without 
bringing  in  this  little  incident.  Of  all  the  participants 
in  the  mighty  struggle,  none  has  a  better  right  to  be 
identified  with  the  Sutherland  Falls  honor  roll. 

Immediately  preceding  the  war  several  buildings 
had  been  added  to  the  village.  Joseph  Kelley,  who  was 
born  in  the  cabin  across  the  road  from  the  Erik  Lund- 
quist  place,  was  one  of  the  contractors  of  that  period. 
With  another  man  to  help  him  he  raised  the  Senator 
Proctor  barn  and  did  some  work  on  the  house.  He  also 
built  the  Benson  cottage,  bounded  today  on  the  north 
by  the  Company's  stables  and  on  the  south  by  the 
Hartnitt  property.  All  this  work  was  done  in  the  fifties. 
Mr.  Kelly  moved  away  from  town  in  1859. 

In  the  Laws  of  Vermont  for  1857  is  "An  Act  In- 
corporating the  Sutherland  Falls  Hotel  Company." 
The  incorporators  were  E.  M.  Madden,  H.  P.  Roberts, 
E.  P.  Wheeler,  W.  S.  Corwin,  John  M.  Goodenough, 
A.  C.  Powers,  E.  L.  Ormsbee,  John  Cain,  and  F.  A. 
Fisher.  They  were  authorized  to  hold  property  not  in 
excess  of  forty  thousand  dollars  and  to  erect  a  hotel 
and  house  of  public  entertainment  at  Sutherland  Falls 
in  the  Town  of  Rutland. 

No  one  of  today  can  understand  what  the  Falls 
people  of  1855  could  do  with  a  forty-thousand-dollar 
hotel,  nor  is  there  any  intimation  as  to  where  they 
proposed   to  erect  it.  In   the  fifties,  when   labor  was 


94:  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

cheap  and  timber  was  cheaper,  an  impressive  showing 
might  have  been  made  with  that  amount  of  money,  a 
creation  which  all  the  valley  would  envy.  But  alas, 
for  plans!  The  war  came  on  and  the  hotel  died  where 
it  was  born,  in  the  halls  of  the  legislature. 

It  was  inevitable  that  life  at  the  Falls  should  re- 
main dormant  throughout  the  war.  Nothing  attempted 
to  grow  in  those  harrowing  days;  if  it  did  little  came 
of  the  effort  except  reverses  and  regrets.  The  most  that 
any  community  hoped  to  do  was  to  keep  its  organiza- 
tion from  being  disrupted  and  completely  overturned. 
Everybody  was  looking  forward  to  the.  time  when  the 
ammunition  money  could  be  turned  back  again  to  civil 
life. 

Toward  the  latter  part  of  the  war,  the  industrial 
tension  at  the  Falls  became  somewhat  less  acute.  A 
new  manager  was  installed  at  the  marble  works  and  he 
promised  many  things.  Indeed  his  promises  were  so 
varied  and  so  visionary  that  they  eventually  led  him 
into  serious  financial  straits.  But  while  they  were  being 
made,  they  seemed  to  be  exactly  what  was  needed  to 
set  the  tottering  business  on  its  feet. 

No,  the  end  of  the  war  was  not  the  beginning  of 
prosperity  for  Sutherland  Falls.  Between  that  and 
stability  lay  the  depression  and  uncertainty  of  a  re- 
ceivership. Out  of  that  receiver's  court,  however, 
emerged  a  leader,  and  with  him  the  town  and  its 
marble  rose  to  a  position  of  permanence  and  nation- 
wide recognition. 


CHAPTER  V 
RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY 

THE    FIRST   QUARRY HUMPHREY'S   MANUSCRIP 

HISTORICAL  ADDRESS REMINISCENCES  OF 

OLD    RESIDENTS PRESENT   DAY    FACTS 

AND    FIGURES 

IN  a  letter  sent  out  in  January,  1792,  from  Nathaniel 
Chipman  of  Rutland  to  Gen.  Philip  Schuyler  o 
New  York,  there  is  a  reference  to  the  marble  in 
terests  of  Vermont.  So  far  as  is  known  this  is  the  earlies 
written  allusion  to  this  branch  of  the  state's  resources 

The  letter  referred  to  a  conversation  of  the  previous 
winter  and  went  on  to  name  over  some  of  the  products 
which  might  go  to  support  a  proposed  canal  between 
the  Hudson  River  and  Lake  Champlain. 

"There  are  also,"  he  wrote,  "in  this  part  of  the 
country  numerous  quarries  of  marble,  some  of  them  of 
superior  quality.  Machines  may  easily  be  erected  for 
sawing  it  into  slabs  by  water  and  in  that  state  it  might 
become  an  important  article  of  commerce." 

It  is  quite  generally  conceded  that  the  first  marble 
quarried  in  Vermont  came  from  the  town  of  Dorset. 
In  a  little  booklet  issued  by  the  Middlebury  Historical 
Society,  we  are  told  that  Isaac  Underbill  opened  a 
quarry  there  in  1785  and  that  the  marble  was  first 
sold  "for  fire-jambs,  chimney  backs,  hearths  and  lin- 
tels for  the  capacious  fireplaces  of  the  day."  This  at 
first  may  sound  like  a  conflicting  statement,  since  there 

95 


96  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

are  any  number  of  old  cemeteries  in  Vermont  which 
contain  native  marble  slabs  erected  in  Revolutionary 
days.  There  is  little  liklihood,  however,  that  those 
stones  were  taken  from  any  quarry;  they  were  doubtless 
split  from  the  outstanding  ledges;  indeed  they  bear 
evidence  of  having  been  hammered  into  form  in  the 
crudest  possible  way. 

So  it  is  entirely  within  reason  to  attribute  the  first 
marble  quarry  to  Dorset — not  alone  the  first  in  Ver- 
mont, but  in  the  entire  Northern  Continent.  Pittsford 
claims  to  have  begun  quarrying  operations  in  1795, 
and  the  True-Blue  quarry  in  West  Rutland  was  proba- 
bly one  of  the  pioneers.  But  none  of  these  contenders 
has  ever  been  able  to  crowd  out  of  first  place  the  Dorset 
opening  at  the  foot  of  Mt.  Aeolus. 

That  the  people  of  the  state  were  early  interested 
in  the  production  of  marble  and  its  future  prosperity  is 
unmistakably  set  forth  in  the  public  records  of  1832. 
The  General  Assembly  of  that  year  passed  a  resolution 
exhorting  the  Representatives  in  Congress  "to  use  all 
honorable  means  to  procure  the  passage  of  a  law  which 
shall  effectaully  protect  our  citizens  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  marble  from   foreign  competition." 

In  Mason's  History  of  Rutland  County  is  the  di- 
gest of  a  manuscript  left  by  R.  S.  Humphrey,  one  of  the 
Proctor  pioneers,  a  sketch  of  whose  life  has  already 
been  woven  into  this  little  book.  Mr.  Humphrey  lived 
within  sight  of  the  original  quarries;  therefore  his 
observations  should  be  accurate  as  to  detail.  This  in 
itself  is  sufficient  excuse  for  reprinting  the  article. 

He  states,  upon  the  authority  of  Samuel  Butler, 
that  the  first  marble  taken  from  what  was  first  known 
as  the  Humphrey  quarry,  afterward  owned  by  the 
Columbian  Marble  Company,  was  in   the  fall  of  the 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY  97 

year  1836,  and  that  the  first  saw  started  at  the  falls 
for  sawing  marble  was  on  Monday,  the  26th  day  of 
September,  1837. 

"In  the  summer  of  1836  Willard  and  Moses  Hum- 
phrey became  convinced  that  the  quarrying  and  sawing 
of  marble  could  be  made  profiable.  They  had  little 
capital;  there  were  no  railroads;  there  was  no  post- 
office  nearer  than  Pittsford  and  West  Rutland;  and 
they  were  entirely  lacking  in  practical  knowledge  of 
the  work  t^ey  resolved  to  undertake.  The  first  work 
was  done  in  the  Columbian  Quarry  by  blasting  out 
the  blocks  with  gunpowder,  hauling  them  with  ropes, 
pulleys  and  rollers  up  an  inclined  plane  to  a  wagon  or 
sled,  and  thence  to  the  falls  with  oxen.  Several  small 
openings  were  made  in  prospecting  for  marble,  one  of 
which  was  about  thirty  rods  north  of  the  first  or  Colum- 
bian opening,  one  on  the  Capron  Farm,  and  one  west 
of  the  Capron  house,  near  the  back  road.  But  they  did 
not  begin  work  on  what  was  afterward  distinguished 
as  the  Sutherland  Falls  Quarry  until  the  summer  of 
1838.  The  building  of  the  first  mill,  with  four  gangs  of 
saws,  was  begun  in  the  winter  of  1836-37,  previous  to 
which  date  they  had  associated  with  themselves  Edgar 
L.  Ormsbee,  of  Rutland,  under  the  firm  name  of  Hum- 
phrey &  Ormsbee.  On  the  26th  day  of  September, 
1837,  the  first  saws  began  to  swing.  Up  to  this  time 
not  more  than  five  or  six  men  had  ever  been  employed 
by  the  firm  at  one  time.  The  mill  was  a  substantial 
stone  building,  part  of  the  walls  of  which  helped  to 
form  the  north  wall  of  the  'Lower  Mill.' 

"The  financial  crises  of  1837-38  crushed  all  business 
at  this  point,  and  after  a  struggle  of  about  a  year  from 
the  time  when  sawing  began,  the  firm  yielded  to  the 
pressure,   gave   up   everything   to   their   creditors   and 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY  99 

assigned  to  Francis  Slason  of  West  Rutland.  Under  his 
direction  the  business  was  carried  on  three  or  four  years, 
with  Moses  Humphrey  as  superintendent.  The  Hum- 
phrey Brothers  soon  gave  up  all  interest  in  the  business 
and  removed  from  the  place.  Mr.  Ormsbee  retained 
some  hold  upon  the  property  and  associated  himself 
with  his  brother,  Thomas  J.  Ormsbee,  who  carried  on 
the  business  two  years  longer.  Their  principal  business 
was  sawing  marble  that  was  drawn  there  from  West 
Rutland,  the  local  trade  taking  most  of  the  sawed 
stock,  and  a  small  part  of  it  finding  its  way  via  White- 
hall to  points  farther  west.  Between  1845  and  1854  the 
marble  business  at  Sutherland  Falls  was  substantially 
at  a  stand-still,  quarries  having  in  the  mean  time  been 
opened  at  West  and  Center  Rutland,  and  larger  mills 
erected.  The  woodwork  in  the  old  mill  fell  into  decay, 
the  quarry  openings  became  frog  ponds,  and  the  entire 
enterprise  seemed  to  have  dropped  into  permanent 
stagnation. 

"For  a  few  years  before  his  death  in  1848  Joseph 
Humphrey,  Jr.,  had  carried  on  a  business  of  consider- 
able importance  for  the  time  in  finishing  grave-stones 
in  a  shop  built  by  himself.  A  part  of  the  period  he  was 
associated  with  Hills  Taylor,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Humphrey  &  Taylor,  and  their  work  attained  a  favor- 
able local  reputation. 

"In  the  year  1854  the  North  River  Mining  Company, 
which  had  been  prospecting  for  marble  in  the  town  of 
Sudbury,  undertook  the  resuscitation  of  the  Sutherland 
Falls  business.  The  railroad  was  now  in  operation, 
supplying  means  of  transportation,  and  circumstances 
seemed  more  favorable  for  the  business.  But  the  quar- 
ries at  West  Rutland  had  been  largely  worked,  as  we 
have  before  shown,  and  there  was  a  large  quantity  of 


\ 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        101 

the  marble  in  the  market.  In  fact  the  active  competi- 
tion inspired  by  the  energetic  men  of  West  Rutland 
made  it  difficult  to  market  the  Sutherland  Falls  marble 
in  large  quantities.  The  old  mill  had  been  rebuilt  and 
started,  however,  and  some  of  the  Sudbury  marble 
sawed.  A  small  business  was  started  and  it  gradually 
grew,  one  of  the  favorable  conditions  being  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  marble  of  this  locality  for  out-door  uses. 
But  the  slow  growth  of  the  trade  and  other  causes  told 
heavily  upon  the  resources  of  the  Company,  and  in 
1857,  after  a  three  years'  struggle,  the  Company  failed. 
All  business  was  again  suspended. 

"The  management  of  the  works  during  this  Com- 
pany's regime  was  in  the  hands  of  Francis  A.  Fisher, 
who  resided  at  the  Falls  until  1866,  when  he  removed 
to  Rutland,  and  lived  there  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1878.  Older  residents  will  remember  Mr. 
Fisher  as  the  father  of  Mrs.  John  N.  Woodfin. 

"In  1857  a  reorganization  was  effected  and  the 
^Sutherland  Falls  Marble  Company'  was  formed.  It 
contained  as  its  leading  spirits  such  men  as  George 
Madden  of  Middletown,  N.  Y.;  Emerson  Bryant  of 
Boston;  Ex-Governor  John  B.  Page;  and  Judge  John 
Prout  of  Rutland;  H.  P.  Roberts  assumed  the  position 
of  Superintendent  and  Manager.  The  business  now 
began  to  grow.  A  few  more  houses  for  workmen  were 
erected  and  six  gangs  of  saws  were  added  to  the  mill. 
The  real  merits  and  beauties  of  the  marble  combined 
to  foster  the  steady  growth  of  the  business  at  this 
point  and  it  prospered  accordingly. 

"Mr.  Roberts,  the  Manager,  lived  at  the  Falls 
five  or  six  years  and  was  succeeded  by  J.  S.  Hughes  of 
Middletown,  N.  Y.  Both  of  these  men  became  en- 
gaged in  railroad  contracting  after  leaving  this  place. 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        103 

A.  C.  Wicker,  of  Fair  Haven,  was  bookkeeper  and  clerk 
for  a  short  period,  and  after  his  departure  Warren 
Decker  assumed  the  position.  Between  i860  and  1864 
J.  E.  Corwin  was  clerk  for  about  two  years.  He  became 
in  later  years  a  bank  president  in  Indiana.  Mr.  Hum- 
phrey mentions  among  those  whose  faces  were  familiar 
at  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing,  either  in  connec- 
tion with  the  marble  industry  or  otherwise  about  the 
place,  A.  F.  Manley,  who  was  foreman  for  years  of  the 
quarry.  Hills  Taylor,  who  worked  many  years  in  the 
Coping  Shop,  William  Maynard,  Henry  and  G.  J. 
Cady,  James  and  David  Rogers,  J.  C.  and  A.  C.  Powers, 
William  and  D.  B.  Humphrey,  N.  S.  Warner,  Leverett 
Chatterton  and  others. 

"In  the  year  1864  J.  B.  Reynolds  became  General 
Superintendent  and  Manager  of  the  marble  business 
at  the  Falls.  Under  his  administration  the  industry 
made  material  advancement.  The  mill  was  increased 
to  twelve  gangs,  tenement  houses  erected,  etc.  It  is 
claimed,  also,  that  some  of  the  investments,  particu- 
larly for  the  'Crane  Shed,'  with  machinery  for  hand- 
ling and  storing  marble,  that  cost  about  $40,000,  and 
the  project  of  carrying  water  in  a  penstock  from  Beaver 
Pond  for  propelling  the  hoisting  machine  and  pumping 
the  quarry,  with  other  extensive  operations,  were  un- 
wise and  resulted  in  heavy  loss.  Harvey  Reynolds,  a 
brother  of  the  Superintendent,  was  interested  in  the 
business  for  a  time,  and  in  connection  with  A.  F. 
Manley  had  a  contract  for  quarrying  marble  by  the 
foot. 

"J.  B.  Reynolds  finally  made  a  contract  with  S  M.. 
Dorr  and  J.  J.  Myers  by  which  they  were  to  carry  on 
the  business  of  sawing  and  selling  the  marble  under  a 
lease.  While    this   arrangement   was   in    force   Dorr  & 


104  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

Myers  purchased  of  T.  J.  Ormsbee  the  land  and  water 
privileges  where  the  present  large  mill  stands,  and  in 
1867-68  they  erected  the  first  eight-gang  mill  on  the 
site.  It  was  their  enterprise,  also,  that  first  conveyed 
the  motive  power  from  the  water-way  at  the  level  of 
the  old  mill  in  the  hollow,  up  to  the  level  of  the  rail- 
road track,  where  the  bulk  of  the  great  business  is  now 
done. 

"The  business  as  conducted  by  Dorr  &  Myers, 
through  some  complications  and  differences  which 
need  not  be  detailed,  was  finally  placed  in  the  hands 
of  a  receiver,  in  the  person  of  Redfield  Proctor.  He 
assumed  the  management  of  the  interest  in  the  fall  of 
1869  and  removed  to  Sutherland  Falls,  April  15,  1871." 

Speaking  before  the  salesmen  and  department  heads 
at  the  Proctor  Conference  of  1920,  Mr.  Partridge  told 
something  of  the  beginning  and  more  of  the  vicissitudes 
and  ailments  which  beset  the  newly-christened  Ver- 
mont Marble  Company.  He  also  sketched  the  growth 
of  the  industry  up  to  the  fulness  of  the  present  day. 
There  can  be  no  more  efficient  method  of  telling  the 
story  than  to  quote  his  talk  in  full,  enlarging  afterward 
on  such  phases  of  it  as  may  have  a  local  interest  and 
adding  certain  items  which  have  been  acquired  from 
other  sources. 

The    address    was    as    follows: 

The  original  sign  on  our  present  main  office  at  Proctor, 
built  in  1886,  bore  these  figures,  "1836-1886,"  a  spread  of  a 
half  century.  The  first  marble  quarried  in  Sutherland  Falls, 
now  Proctor,  was  in  1836  and  the  original  pioneers  were 
Willard  and  Moses  Humphrey,  with  whom  was  associated 
Edgar  L.  Ormsbee,  a  lawyer  of  Rutland.  They  built  the 
first  mill  of  four  gangs  in  1 837.  It  was  a  part  of  the  old  lower 
mill  near  the  water  power  intake  from  the  Creek,  now  long 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        105 

since  dismantled  and  its  site  covered  by  a  marble  fill  reaching 
above  the  original  top  of  the  mill.  The  first  quarrying  is 
supposed  to  have  been  done  at  the  Columbian  quarry  near 
the  Humphrey  homestead  and  quarrying  at  or  near  the  old 
Sutherland  Falls  quarry  probably  began  in  1838  .  The  enter- 
prise was  carried  on  for  three  or  four  years  and  then  fell  into 
financial  trouble.  It  resulted  in  the  moving  to  Proctor  m 
1843  of  Thomas  J.  Ormsbee,  brother  of  Edgar  L.  Ormsbee, 
and  he  conducted  the  business  for  a  couple  of  years  more. 
Thomas  J.  Ormsbee  continued  to  live  at  Proctor  until  his 
death  in  1896  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  public  library. 
The  bronze  tablet  on  the  boulder  opposite  the  library  well 
says  that  he  and  his  wife  "were  active  in  all  good  works." 

Between  1845  ^^^  1^54  ^he  business  was  at  a  standstill. 
In  the  latter  year  the  North  River  Mining  Company,  which 
h^d  been  doing  some  marble  prospecting  at  Sudbury,  took 
up  the  business  at  Proctor,  but  they  failed  in  1857.  Then 
the  first  Sutherland  Falls  Marble  Company  was  formed  by 
gentlemen  in  Rutland,  including  John  B.  Page,  afterwards 
governor,  John  Prout,  afterwards  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  John  B.  Reynolds  and  others.  At  this  time  six  gangs 
were  added  to  the  old  lower  mill. 

About  1867  the  Sutherland  Falls  Marble  Company 
contracted  with  Dorr  and  Myers  to  saw  some  of  their  marble. 
Dorr  and  Myers  purchased  land  and  water  privileges  from 
Thomas  J.  Ormsbee  and  erected  an  eight-gang  mill,  which 
is  now  the  first  story  of  the  eight-gang  mill  in  the  present 
line  of  mills.  Dorr  and  Myers  were  both  sons-in-law  of 
William  Y.  Ripley,  whose  name  will  later  appear  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  Rutland  deposit.  Mrs.  Dorr  was  the  well- 
known  author,  Julia  C.  R.  Dorr.  In  1869  Dorr  and  Myers, 
having  some  business  differences,  sought  in  the  courts  a  dis- 
solution of  their  partnership  and  it  resulted  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  Colonel  Redfield  Proctor  as  receiver.  Thus  began 
the  first  connection  of  Colonel  Proctor  with  the  marble  busi- 
ness in  November,  1869. 

At  that  time  the  business  of  Dorr  and  Myers  consisted 
simply  of  their  eight-gang  mill  and  the  rest  of  the  marble 
business  at  Proctor  was  owned  by  the  Sutherland  Falls  Mar- 
ble Co.,  a  Massachusetts  corporation,  operating  the  quarry 


SUTHERLAND    FALLS    QUARRY    1885 


FIRST    MARBLE   CHANNELING   MACHINE,   USED    IN   SUTHERLAND   FALLS 
QUARRY  UNTIL  ABOUT  1868 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        107 

and  ten  gangs.  Colonel  Proctor  no  sooner  came  into  touch 
with  the  business  here  than  he  had  a  vision.  Here  were  a 
wonderful  water  power,  capable  of  great  development,  a 
promising  quarry,  a  good  deposit  of  sand  on  the  site  of  the 
present  marble  yard  and  the  railroad  immediately  at  hand. 
He  apparently  early  decided  that,  if  he  could  bring  together 
the  property  into  one  ownership,  it  afforded  under  efficient 
and  economical  management  an  excellent  basis  for  a  pros- 
perous business.  He  therefore  organized,  in  November,  1870, 
the  Sutherland  Falls  Marble  Company,  a  Vermont  corpora- 
tion, which  took  over  the  whole,  and  in  that  new  venture  he 
invested  all  that  he  had  and  all  that  he  could  borrow  and  be- 
came its  treasurer  and  resident  manager. 

The  next  ten  years  from  1870  to  1880  were  truly  pioneer 
days.  Everything  was  upon  a  relatively  small  and  simple 
basis.  Colonel  Proctor  often  handled  a  truck  and  helped  to 
load  cars,  emphasizing  the  fact  that  the  way  to  get  returns 
is  to  get  off  marble.  He  personally  selected  marble  and  it 
was  he  who  taught  Mr.  Taylor,  the  dean  of  our  marble  expert 
department,  how  to  select  marble.  During  these  years  Colo- 
nel Proctor  devoted  himself  night  and  day  to  the  building  up 
of  the  business.  To  the  best  of  my  belief  in  all  those  years 
the  company  never  paid  any  dividends.  What  it  could  earn 
was  put  into  paying  debts  and  extending  the  business.  The 
old  Sutherland  Falls  quarry  proved  to  be  a  great  success  and 
in  a  way  it  was  the  foundation  upon  which  the  whole  structure 
of  the  Vermont  Marble  Company  was  eventually  reared. 
In  1880  at  the  end  of  ten  years  the  Sutherland  Falls  Marble 
Company  was  operating  64  gangs  and  had  become  a  con- 
spicuous success  in  the  marble  business  of  Vermont. 


At  West  Rutland  marble  is  supposed  to  have  been  taken 
out  at  or  near  the  True  Blue  quarry  as  early  as  1807  and  the 
old  Standard  quarry  to  have  been  begun  in  the  '30s.  The 
opening  of  the  West  Rutland  marble  deposit  proper  did 
not  begin  until  1844.  In  that  and  the  following  year  Mr. 
Barnes  began  an  opening  on  the  property  which  subsequent- 
ly became  the  property  of  the  Rutland  Marble  Company; 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        10» 

Mr.  Sheldon  an  opening  on  the  property  of  Sheldon  &  Sons; 
and  Adams  and  Allen  on  the  property  which  subsequently 
became  the  quarry  of  Gilson  &  Woodfin.  Mr.  Barnes  was  a 
retired  minister.  He  had  the  faith  necessary  for  the  starting 
of  a  new  enterprise  but  like  many  pioneers  his  lack  of  other 
qualities  or  the  inopportuneness  of  the  times  did  not  permit 
him  to  reap  its  substantial  rewards.  After  a  varied  fortune 
he  finally  met  his  death  by  a  small  piece  of  rock  falling  from 
the  top  of  the  quarry  and  striking  him  upon  the  head.  Mr. 
Barnes  early  associated  with  himself  William  Y.  Ripley,  the 
father  of  General  William  Y.  W.  Ripley  and  General  Edward 
H.  Ripley,  who  later  constituted  the  firm  of  Ripley  Sons. 
They  built  the  Ripley  mill  at  Center  Rutland  on  the  site 
of  the  present  Ripley  mill,  but  eventually  divided  their 
properties,  Ripley  taking  the  mill  at  Center  Rutland  and 
Barnes  the  quarries  at  West  Rutland,  subject  to  a  contract, 
however,  to  supply  forever  a  specified  number  of  cubic  feet 
of  marble  which  Ripley  was  to  saw  and  sell  and  then  divide 
the  proceeds  as  he  made  collections. 

One  of  the  first  men  to  make  some  measure  of  success 
with  the  Barnes  properties  at  West  Rutland  was  General 
Baxter,  who  at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War  was  Adjutant 
General  of  the  state.  General  Baxter  continued  in  the  mar- 
ble business  for  a  few  years  and  the  Barnes  properties  then 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Rutland  Marble  Company, 
a  New  York  corporation,  largely  owned  by  bankers  and 
financiers  in  New  York  City. 

At  Center  Rutland,  besides  the  Ripley  mill,  another 
marble  mill  was  early  built  at  the  present  Center  Rutland 
site.  Mr,  Charles  Clement  became  interested  in  the  business 
there  and  a  mill  on  the  site  of  the  present  new  mill  at  Center 
Rutland  was  for  many  years  called  the  Clement  mill.  The 
property  at  Center  Rutland,  not  including,  however,  he 
Ripley  mill,  also  passed  into  the  ownership  of  the  Rutland 
Marble    Company. 

In  1880  the  Rutland  Marble  Company  had,  besides  its 
quarries  at  West  Rutland,  which  covered  the  largest  holding 
on  the  West  Rutland  deposit,  24  gangs  at  West  Rutland,  28 
gangs  at  Center  Rutland,  and  8  gangs  at  Salem,  N.  Y.,  a 
total  of  60  gangs.  The  contrast  in  methods  and  policies  be- 


110  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

tween  the  Rutland  Marble  Company  and  the  Sutherland 
Falls  Marble  Company  was  very  marked.  At  Sutherland 
Falls  there  was  no  division  of  profits.  All  earnings  were  de- 
voted to  the  upbuilding  and  expansion  of  the  business.  On 
the  other  hand  the  Rutland  Marble  Company,  owned  largely 
in  a  distant  city,  was  operated  on  directly  the  opposite  theory. 
One  practice  pursued  by  it,  which  seems  ludicrous  now,  was 
to  hold  auctions  at  their  yards  in  Vermont  for  the  sale  of 
marble  to   the  great  demoralization  of  the  trade  generally. 


At  an  early  session  of  this  conference  Mr.  Howard,  our 
first  vice-president,  with  a  flight  of  poetic  imagination  which 
rather  startled  me,  spoke  of  the  marriage  of  the  Sutherland 
Falls  quarry  with  the  West  Rutland  deposit.  Adopting  his 
figure  you  may  be  interested  to  know  that  it  was  a  case  of 
love  at  first  sight.  In  1880  Colonel  Proctor,  who  was  then 
governor  of  the  state,  was  in  the  office  of  a  friend  in  New 
York  City  when  Elisha  Riggs,  a  New  York  banker  and  pres- 
ident of  the  Rutland  Marble  Company,  came  in.  The  friend 
said  to  Mr.  Riggs  that  he  presumed  he  knew  Governor  Proc- 
tor and  Mr.  Riggs  replied  he  never  had  had  the  pleasure  of 
meeting  him  but  he  knew  all  about  him  and  had  been  think- 
ing for  some  time  that  he  would  like  to  have  a  visit  with  him. 
Mr.  Riggs  told  Governor  Proctor  that  he  knew  he  was  mak- 
ing a  success  of  the  Sutherland  Falls  Marble  Company,  that 
he  felt  his  company  had  a  good  property  at  West  Rutland 
but  it  was  not  succeeding.  He  asked  Governor  Proctor  if  he 
would  consent  to  assume  the  management  of  the  Rutland 
Marble  Company,  and,  that  he  might  have  a  free  hand,  he 
proposed  to  resign  and  have  Governor  Proctor  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  Company.  That  was  done  that  same  day  at  a 
hastily  called  meeting  of  the  directors  and  Governor  Proctor 
returned  to  Vermont  that  night  to  walk  into  the  office  of  his 
chief  competitor  the  next  morning  with  the  suggestion  that 
he  would  like  to  look  over  their  books. 

Governor  Proctor  was  in  charge  of  the  Rutland  Marble 
Company  only  a  few  months  before  he  had  a  second  vision 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        111 

and  that  was  the  usefulness  to  both  of  a  union  of  the  two 
properties  of  which  he  thus  found  himself  in  charge.  Thus 
in  September,  1880,  he  formed  and  became  President  of  the 
Vermont  Marble  Company,  a  New  York  corporation,  which 
took  over  the  property  of  the  Sutherland  Falls  Marble  Com- 
pany and  the  Rutland  Marble  Company.  It  was  a  bold  and 
courageous  step  to  permit  an  independent  successful  business 
free  from  debt  in  which  he  or  his  immediate  friends  owned  a 
controlling  interest  to  be  merged  into  a  new  company,  with 
a  considerable  debt  and  a  part  of  its  business  theretofore 
unsuccessful,  in  which  he  became  a  minority  stockholder. 
The  wisdom  of  the  union,  however,  has  been  wonderfully 
fulfilled  and  both  parts  of  the  business  have  grown  in  a  way 
that  neither  alone  could  have  done. 


At  this  time  competitive  conditions  were  much  demor- 
alized, as  you  may  imagine  from  the  reference  to  the  auctions 
of  the  Rutland  Marble  Company.  To  meet  this  situation 
Governor  Proctor  devised  and  procured  the  organization  of 
the  so-called  Producers  Marble  Company,  January  i,  1883. 
It  was  not  a  corporation  but  a  partnership  of  its  five  mem- 
bers permitted  by  general  legislation  secured  for  the  purpose 
to  do  business  and  to  sue  and  be  sued  by  its  common  name. 
The  members  of  the  Producers  Marble  Company  ceased  to 
sell  any  marble  direct  to  the  trade,  but  sold  their  entire  pro- 
duction to  the  Producers  Marble  Company,  which  resold  to 
the  trade.  All  invoices  went  out  in  the  name  of  the  Produc- 
ers Marble  Company,  all  collections  were  made  by  it,  and 
all  the  branches  and  travelers  were  under  its  control.  The 
Producers  Marble  Company  gave  notes  to  the  members 
semi-monthly  for  the  marble  which  they  had  furnished  less 
a  wholesale  discount.  Whether  such  a  sales  company  might 
not  now  come  under  the  condemnation  of  the  much  later 
Sherman  anti-trust  act  is  a  fair  question,  but  it  was  not  con- 
trary to  any  law  or  business  ethics  then,  and  was  perfectly 
open  and  generally  accepted  by  the  trade  as  a  useful  instru- 
ment for  the  distribution  of  Vermont  marble  and  the  stabi- 
lizing of  its  price.  The  proportion  of  the  different  partners 


112  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

in  the  Producers  Marble  Company  was  Vermont  Marble 
Company  54.72%,  Sheldon  &  Sons  23%,  Dorset  Marble 
Company  8%,  Ripley  Sons  7.25%,  Gilson&  Woodfin7.03%, 
and  they  were  entitled  to  furnish  marble  through  the  Pro- 
ducers Marble  Company  as  near  as  could  be  according  to 
those  per  cents.  The  Producers  Marble  Company  continued 
for  five  years,  expiring  by  limitation  December  31,   1887. 

After  the  dissolution  of  the  Producers  Marble  Company, 
Gilson  &  Woodfin  joined  with  the  Vermont  Marble  Company 
in  the  operation  of  branches  and  travelers  during  the  year 
1888.  The  other  companies  ran  independently,  except  the 
Dorset  Marble  Company,  which  had  gone  into  the  hands  of 
receivers  before  the  expiration  of  the  Producers  Marble  Com- 
pany. Now  followed  in  rapid  succession  the  purchase  by 
the  Vermont  Marble  Company  of  the  properties  of  the  com- 
panies which  had  been  its  associates  in  the  Producers  Mar- 
ble Company.  January  i,  1889,  it  purchased  from  Gilson  & 
Woodfin  their  entire  property  including  the  present  so-called 
Gilson  &  Woodfin  quarry  and  a  mill  upon  a  part  of  the  site 
of  the  new  mill  now  building  at  West  Rutland, 

Later  in  1889  the  mill  of  Ripley  &  Sons  at  Center  Rut- 
land was  purchased.  This  added  no  quarry  property  as  such 
to  our  holdings  but  did  relieve  the  Vermont  Marble  Com- 
pany from  the  vexatious  requirements  of  the  old  Ripley- 
Barnes  contract.  That  contract  had  always  been  a  source 
of  irritation  between  the  parties  in  interest  and  at  one  time 
resulted  in  a  suit  between  Ripley  Sons  and  the  Rutland 
Marble  Company  which  went  to  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  and  was  there  argued  by  four  of  the  most  distinguished 
men  at  the  bar  of  the  United  States  at  that  time — Senator 
George  F.  Edmunds,  long  senator  from  Vermont,  William 
M.  Evarts,  senator,  secretary  of  state,  etc.,  Edward  J^ 
Phelps,  later  ambassador  to  Great  Britain,  and  B.  R.  Curtis. 
The  opportunity  to  merge  this  contract  was  the  larger  mo- 
tive for  the  Ripley  purchase. 

In  1 891  the  Sheldon  purchase  was  effected.  They  had 
a  considerable  business  and  owned  an  excellent  part  of  the 
deposit.  The  owners  and  managers  were  men  liked  in  the 
trade  and  by  their  employes,  but  their  financial  manage- 
ment was  unfortunate  and  their  business  accumulated  grad- 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        113 

ually  a  larger  and  larger  debt  which  they  were  unable  to 
carry  longer.  We  first  connected  ourselves  with  the  property 
by  making  a  lease  of  it  for  thirty  years,  but  a  little  later  pur- 
chased the  capital  stock  of  the  Sheldon  Marble  Company 
and  eventually  it  was  merged  into  the  Vermont  Marble 
Company. 

The  so-called  Sherman  quarry  at  the  north  end  of  the 
West  Rutland  deposit  during  the  time  of  the  Producers-, 
belonged  to  the  Dorset  Marble  Company.  After  the  breakup 
of  the  Dorset  Marble  Company  it  passed  into  the  hands  of 
some  gentlemen  who  had  a  mortgage  on  it,  and  it  was  pur- 
chased by  us  in  189J,  thus  completing  our  ownership  of  the 
great  West  Rutland  deposit. 

The  Clarendon  &  Pittsford  Railroad  was  begun  north 
from  Proctor  in  1886  and  to  Center  Rutland  and  West  Rut- 
land in  1887  and  1888,  thus  conveniently  uniting  the  main, 
properties. 


The  early  marble  business  consisted  of  the  sale  of  sawed 
marble  for  monumental  uses.  It  was  not  until  about  1876 
that  we  began  to  do  monumental  finishing.  About  that  time 
a  small  shop  was  started  here  at  Proctor  and  the  Vermont 
Marble  Company  began  in  1880  with  that  shop  and  a  small 
shop  which  the  Rutland  Marble  Company  had  at  Center 
Rutland.  The  monumental  finishing  business  has  grown 
gradually  to  its  present  large  proportions. 

Exterior  finishing  was  begun  in  1880.  It  first  began  in 
a  small  way  with  contractors  coming  here  and  cutting  mar- 
ble furnished  by  us.  In  the  price  list  of  the  Sutherland  Falls 
Marble  Company  dated  May  i,  1880,  the  announcement  was 
made  that  the  company  had  engaged  an  experienced  foreman 
from  New  York  who  would  give  his  entire  attention  to  our 
building  work.  That  was  Thomas  J.  Hagan,  and  for  several 
years  he  was  foreman  of  the  shop,  draftsman,  salesman,  etc.,, 
combined.  It  was  not  until  1884  that  he  even  required  a 
helper.  Then  Mr.  James  H.  Edson,  brother  of  our  Assistant 
Treasurer,  was  transferred  from  the  position  of  office  boy  at 
the  Producers  Marble  Company  office  to  become  his  assist- 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        115 

ant  in  office  and  drafting  work,  and  Mr.  Edson  after  a  few 
years  succeeded  Mr.  Hagan  as  the  head  of  the  exterior  de- 
partment. 

The  first  branch  established  by  the  Sutherland  Falls 
Marble  Company  was  at  Toledo  about  1875,  ^^^  its  first 
manager  was  Henry  D.  Pierce,  now  manager  emeritus  of 
the  Chicago  Branch.  Mr.  Pierce  came  from  Senator  Proc- 
tor's native  town;  he  went  into  the  army  during  the  Civil 
war  as  a  mere  boy,  afterwards  he  fitted  for  college,  graduated 
at  Dartmouth  and  became  a  teacher  in  the  high  school  at 
Toledo.  When  Senator  Proctor  started  the  branch  at  Toledo 
he  persuaded  Mr.  Pierce  to  give  up  his  teaching  to  go  into 
the  marble  business.  About  the  same  time  or  soon  after  the 
Sutherland  Falls  Marble  Company  started  a  branch  in  Bos- 
ton and  it  had  two  branches  in  1878.  In  January,  1881,  after 
the  organization  of  the  Vermont  Marble  Company,  we  had 
four  branches — Boston,  Philadelphia,  Toledo  and  Chicago. 
During  the  life  of  the  Producers  Marble  Company  there  was 
a  great  increase  in  the  number  of  branches.  In  1883  there 
were  nine  and  in  1886,  eleven,  including  the  branches  at 
Cincinnati,  Toledo,  Detroit  and  Kansas  City.  With  the 
dissolution  of  the  Producers  Marble  Company  some  of  these 
branches  were  given  up  and  in  1891  the  Vermont  Marble 
Company  had  six  branches  only.  Our  oldest  branch,  there- 
fore, is  Boston  and  our  next  oldest  are  Philadelphia  and 
Chicago. 

In  1889  Redfield  Proctor  became  secretary  of  war  in 
the  cabinet  of  President  Harrison,  and  in  1891  United 
States  Senator,  in  which  office  he  continued  until  his  death 
March  4,  1908.  When  he  went  to  Washington  in  1889  he 
resigned  as  president  and  director  of  the  Company.  Our 
treasurer,  Mr.  Morse,  has  the  honor  of  being  his  successor 
on  the  board  of  directors.  Senator  Proctor  immediately 
dropped  all  of  the  details  of  the  business  although  he  ever 
continued  to  be  deeply  interested  in  what  it  was  doing.  I 
have  recounted  the  purchases  in  1889  to  1891  and  treated 
them  as  a  part  of  his  administration  because  they  were 
largely  initiated  and  fostered  by  him  and  I  think  properly 
belong  there.  In  the  public  mind,  however,  his  name  was 
so  connected  with  the  success  of  the  business  that  so  long 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        117 

as  he  lived  he  was  accustomed  to  personally  endorse  the 
notes  of  the  Company.  It  is  a  tribute  to  the  public  confi- 
dence in  him  that  although  banks  knew  or  at  least  might 
have  known  that  substantially  all  of  the  property  he  had 
was  risked  in  the  business,  still  the  presence  of  his  personal 
name  upon  the  back  of  the  company's  notes  made  for  their 
acceptability  on  the  part  of  all  discriminating  bankers. 
Senator  Proctor,  the  founder  of  this  business,  was  one 
of  the  most  extraordinary  men  it  has  ever  been  my  privilege 
to  know.  Of  restless  ambition,  iron  will,  farseeing  vision  and 
abounding  energy,  he  laid  the  foundations  for  the  business, 
carried  it  through  the  years  of  its  infancy  and  most  strenu- 
ous trials,  and  after  him  it  continued  to  grow  along  the  lines 
which  he  laid  down.  He  concentrated  all  his  efforts  in  one 
particular  line,  refusing  all  allurements  to  other  business 
fields.  In  the  marble  business  itself  he  made  investments 
which  might  have  seemed  reckless  to  those  with  less  abound- 
ing faith,  but  he  made  no  other  business  investments.  It 
was  by  the  application  of  these  simple  principles,  concentra- 
tion, energy,  singleness  of  purpose,  organization,  economy, 
spending  in  the  business  all  that  it  could  earn,  that  under 
his  master  hand  from  so  small  beginnings  grew  so  large  re- 
sults. 


Fletcher  D.  Proctor  succeeded  his  father  as  president 
in  1889  and  continued  as  president  until  his  decease  Septem- 
ber 27,  191 1,  a  period  of  over  twenty-two  years.  In  1889, 
or  perhaps  better  in  1891,  when  the  large  purchases  at  West 
Rutland  were  concluded,  there  had  been  brought  together 
interests  which  theretofore  had  been  operated  independently 
and  quite  diversely.  The  problem  was  how  to  consolidate 
the  whole  into  a  single  unit  and  how  to  organize  them  upon 
a  more  systematic  and  businesslike  basis.  This  was  success- 
fully done  and  during  the  next  twenty-two  years  the  com- 
pany enjoyed  a  continuing  growth  and  development.  It 
was  during  this  period  that  the  company  largely  assumed 
its  present  form  and  organization. 

Our  interior  building  business  did  not  begin  until  after 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        119 

the  panic  of  1893.  Incited  by  the  dire  need  of  more  work 
to  do  we  then  began  to  develop  the  use  of  our  marble  for 
interior  building  purposes  and  gradually  became  able  to 
devote  to  beautiful  and  artistic  uses  some  marble  which 
before  had  not  been  regarded  as  suitable  for  monuments 
and  had  been  thrown  away  as  waste.  It  was  a  great  achieve- 
ment and  much  credit  for  it  is  due  to  Mr.  Howard  and  Mr. 
Higbee.  Our  non-monumental  business — of  which  interior 
building  was  the  larger  part — came  before  the  war  to  be 
fully  sixty  per  cent  of  our  business. 

The  electrification  of  the  Sutherland  Falls  power  was 
made  in  1905  and  T906.  Huntington  Falls  was  bought  and 
electrically  developed  in  19 10.  Beldens  Falls,  which  we 
purchased  in  1904,  was  electrically  developed  in  191  J. 
These  three  great  powers  with  other  lesser  ones  are  tied 
together  with  our  various  quarries  and  mills  by  seventy- 
three  miles  of  high  voltage  line.  Not  being  a  public  service 
corporation  and  having  no  right  of  eminent  domain,  we 
had  to  secure  by  contract  with  private  owners  rights  of  way 
for  the  pole  line  for  the  entire  distance,  a  task  accomplished 
with  great  success  by  Mr.  Boyce,  our  superintendent  of  real 
estate. 

We  made  our  first  investment  in  Alaska  in  1908  and 
began  the  successful  development  which  we  have  made 
there.  This  present  year  we  have  purchased  two  considerable 
properties  in  Alaska  for  the  further  strengthening  and  en- 
larging of  our  business  there. 

We  first  bought  a  controlling  stock  interest  in  the  Bar- 
ney Marble  Company  in  1901  and  subsequently  acquired 
its  full  ownership.  This  gave  us  the  possession  of  the  Verde 
Antique  deposit  at  Roxbury  and  the  Champlain  marble 
deposits  at  Swanton  and  the  plant  at  Swanton.  The  larger 
development  and  the  wonderful  success  of  Verde  Antique 
has  come  since  we  began  to  operate  at  Roxbury. 

The  Albertson  property  was  purchased  in  1899  and 
the  old  mill  afterwards  replaced  by  the  present  crane  mill. 
We  began  our  purchases  at  Danby  in  1905.  In  1909  we  ac- 
quired the  property  of  the  Brandon  Italian  Marble  Com- 
pany, giving  us  our  present  quarries  at  Brandon  and  the 
plant  at  Middlebury.  The  development  of  the  W^est  Blue, 


120  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

commonly  called  the  Harrington  quarry,  was  begun  in  1901. 
In  191 1,  shortly  before  the  decease  of  Fletcher  D.  Proctor, 
we  purchased  the  property  of  the  Rutland  Florence,  includ- 
ing the  Florence  mill,  the  Pittsford  Italian  quarries  and  the 
quarry  and  mill  of  the  True  Blue  at  WeBt  Rutland.  This  is 
the  largest  single  addition  to  our  property  since  the  Sheldon 
purchase. 

Governor  Fletcher  D.  Proctor — he  became  governor  of 
our  state  in  1906 — was  a  man  of  real  administrative  genius, 
remarkable  judgment  of  men,  rare  mastery  of  details  and 
a  splendid  organizer.  The  business  which  his  father  founded 
he  developed,  enlarged  and  systematized  upon  an  enduring 
basis.  He  had  a  natural  capacity  for  business  and  affairs, 
and  his  wisdom  and  energy  were  a  predominating  element 
in  the  business  for  twenty-two  years.  In  close  touch  with 
each  department  of  the  business  and  particularly  the  pro- 
ducing end  he  had  great  capacity  for  coordinating  the  work 
of  all.  Like  his  father,  he  had  the  happy  faculty  of  command- 
ing the  respect,  confidence  and  perfect  loyalty  of  those  who 
were  associated  with  him.  Senator  Proctor  drew  around 
himself  men  much  younger  than  himself,  whose  work  he 
guided  and  directed.  Fletcher,  being  only  28  when  he  became 
president,  had  perhaps  the  harder  task  of  holding  together 
in  perfect  loyalty  and  understanding  men  nearer  his  own 
age.  Each  had  his  own  peculiar  mission  in  the  history  of  the 
business  and  each  was  fitted  for  it.  I  cannot  think  of  either 
doing  the  task  of  the  other  with  equal  success. 


The  course  of  events  since  191 1  is  too  recent  to  require 
any  detailed  comment,  and  is  generally  known  to  you.  The 
fact  that  the  organization  has  worked  smoothly  and  with 
measurable  success  since  then  is  a  tribute  to  the  way  Gover- 
nor Proctor  left  it.  During  four  years  of  the  time  we  were 
in  the  midst  of  the  Great  War  when  the  problem  for  the 
marble  business  fixed  by  the  course  of  events  was  one  of 
existence.  We  have,  however,  started  our  development  at 
San  Saba  and  our  branches  at  Dallas,  Texas,  and  Peterboro, 
Ontario.  We  have  rounded  out  our  holding  at  Danby  and 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        121 

Dorset  through  the  purchase  of  the  Norcross  properties  in 
1 9 13  and  by  large  development  work  at  Danby  have  put 
ourselves  in  a  better  position  to  handle  building  business  in 
the  future.  During  the  last  nine  years  some  innovations 
have  been  introduced,  because  in  the  natural  course  of  events 
the  time  had  come  when  we  could  undertake  them.  Our 
accounting  system  has  been  much  improved  so  that  we  know 
the  results  much  more  in  detail,  enabling  us  to  conduct  our 
business  more  closely.  That  information  has  brought  us 
some  surprises  from  which  we  are  trying  to  profit.  We  have 
■established  our  pension  system  and  it  is  working  very  satis- 
factorily. We  are  today  generally  better  organized  and  in  a 
stronger  position  than  we  were  nine  years  ago. 


The  Vermont  Marble  Company  has  thus  grown  through 
the  years  from  small  beginnings  to  become  a  large  institution 
by  the  steady  application  of  simple  fundamental  principles. 
During  fifty  years  it  has  established  itself  as  an  institution 
with  some  definite  policies  which  it  is  worth  while  to  recall. 

It  has  always  pursued  a  system  of  sound  finance,  and 
has  never  engaged  in  frenzied  finance  nor  attempted  pro- 
motion schemes.  Unfortunately  it  has  been  the  innocent 
excuse  for  schemes  of  frenzied  finance  by  others,  for  I  sup- 
pose that  every  wildcat  proposition  for  getting  rich  quickly 
in  marble,  which  has  been  put  out  to  bleed  the  public  in  re- 
cent years,  has  been  based  upon  alluring  and  misleading 
statements  of  the  remarkable  success  of  the  Vermont  Marble 
Company.  These  promoters  do  not  tell  the  public  that  our 
success  was  built  upon  long  years  of  patient  waiting,  by  the 
happy  blending  of  natural  opportunity,  sustained  effort 
and  great  self-sacrifice. 

The  management  of  the  company  has  always  given 
the  enterprise  fair  treatment.  It  has  not  followed  the  false 
philosophy  that  one  can  eat  his  apple  and  still  have  it. 
Steadily  year  after  year  it  devoted  all  that  it  earned  to  the 
enlargement  of  the  property  or  the  payment  of  debts.  Its 
dividend  policy  was  one  of  the  most  extreme  conservatism  I 
have  ever  known.  As  I  have  said  to  you,  to  the  best  of  my 


122  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

belief  the  Sutherland  Falls  Marble  Company  from  1870  to 
1880  paid  no  dividends  whatever.  From  1880  to  June  i, 
1 901,  when  the  company  was  reorganized  on  the  Senator's 
seventieth  birthday  as  a  Vermont  corporation,  a  period  of 
twenty-one  years,  the  company  paid  altogether  only  13 
per  cent  in  dividends,  an  average  of  seven-tenths  of  one  per- 
cent per  year.  There  are  some  simple  mathematics  very 
interesting  in  this  connection.  One  dollar  put  at  6%  com- 
pound interest  for  21  years  would  become  I3.40.  If  we  as- 
sume, therefore,  that  the  Vermont  Marble  Company  in 
these  years  earned  as  much  as  6.7%  annually,  which  is  too 
small  a  return  for  a  precarious  mining  venture,  thus  saving 
6%  a  year,  the  value  of  its  property  and  assets  should  have 
been  3.4  times  larger  in  1901  than  in  1880. 

The  policy  of  insurance  from  size  and  diversity  has  con- 
stantly been  kept  in  mind.  The  ownership  of  one  marble 
quarry  is  very  precarious.  The  ownership  of  many  marble 
quarries  of  diverse  kinds  and  differently  located  may  be 
fairly  stable.  The  use  of  marble  for  one  purpose  only  has 
in  it  many  more  contingencies  than  when  used  for  very  di- 
versified purposes.  It  is  similar  to  the  principle  of  life  insur- 
ance. The  insurance  of  one  life  is  too  risky,  the  insurance 
of  many  makes  a  stable  business.  Much  of  the  stability  of 
the  Vermont  Marble  Company  has  been  gained  by  the  size 
and  diversity  of  its  holdings  and  undertakings. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  asset  of  the  company,  and  it  is 
the  result  of  a  historical  policy,  is  its  loyal  organization. 
It  comes  in  some  degree  at  least  from  the  close  association 
of  all  those  who  are  associated  together  in  the  business. 
One  of  the  most  significant  events  in  the  history  of  the  Ver- 
mont Marble  Company  is  when  Senator  Proctor,  April  15th, 
1 871,  moved  his  family  to  this  village,  which  subsequently 
came  to  bear  his  name.  In  that  event  and  in  the  adherence 
to  that  example  of  his  family  and  of  others  associated  in  the 
management  was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  best  kind  of  re- 
lation. As  I  have  said  before,  "Many  of  the  misunderstand- 
ings which  arise  between  large  corporations  and  their  em- 
ployes are  due  to  the  fact  that  such  corporations  are  more 
often  owned  and  in  a  larger  sense  managed  by  absentees. 
If  the  local  managers  are  not  the  controlling  owners,  but  are 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        123 

held  accountable  for  certain  financial  results  by  a  board  of 
directors  sitting  in  some  distant  city,  neighborly  considera- 
tions do  not  have  a  fair  chance.  One  of  the  unavoidable, 
but  none  the  less  unfortunate,  incidents  of  great  corporate 
enterprises  is  that  they  so  often  prevent  employers  and  em- 
ployes from  living  in  personal  touch  with  each  other  as  neigh- 
bors in  the  same  community."  Upon  that  foundation  and 
upon  the  foundation  of  mutual  trust  and  confidence  there 
has  grown  up  one  of  the  most  loyal  organizations  which  any 
large  business  has. 

The  Vermont  Marble  Company  has  striven  to  give  of 
the  stability  which  it  has  built  up  for  itself  as  largely  as 
possible  to  its  employes.  It  has  been  its  policy  to  give  to  its 
employes  as  steady  employment  as  possible,  the  business  as 
a  whole  carrying  the  contingencies  of  business  rather  than, 
as  is  so  often  done,  to  lay  off  and  to  take  on  its  employes  ac- 
cording  to   variations   in    trade. 

It  has  always  been  the  policy  of  the  company  to  keep 
itself  in  direct  contact  with  the  trade.  This  it  has  done 
through  its  system  of  branches  and  agents  who  cover  the 
entire  field.  Through  it  and  through  the  quality  of  service 
which  we  have  been  able  to  render  the  company  has  built 
up  another  great  asset,  the  good-will  of  the  trade.  We  do 
not  carry  it  on  our  books,  as  some  companies  do,  expressed 
in  dollars  and  cents,  but  it  is  one  of  our  most  valuable  assets. 

Thus  the  Vermont  Marble  Company  under  wise  lead- 
ership, by  faithful  adherence  to  very  simple  economical 
principles,  has  become  much  the  largest  marble  company 
in  the  world.  Its  largest  possessions  are  not  physical  prop- 
erties but  wise  policies  and  intangible  assets  to  which  I  have 
referred.  It  is  a  great  inheritance  which  has  been  committed 
to  us. 

Going  back  to  the  beginning  once  more,  that  little 
old  mill  in  which  the  Humphrey  brothers  sawed  their 
first  marble,  was  a  low  gable-roof  structure,  which  was 
said  to  stand  on  the  exact  site  of  John  Sutherland's 
Grist  Mill.  It  was  later  reinforced  by  a  stone  addition 
on  the  north  and  one  of  wood  on  the  south.  The  latter 


124  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

addition,  known  as  the  '*Air  Compressor  Building," 
was  raised  in  1877.  It  was  equipped  by  machines  which 
had  been  used  in  the  construction  of  the  Hoosic  Tunnel, 
and  a  pipe  was  laid  to  the  Sutherland  Falls  opening 
so  that  the  air  could  be  transferred  from  the  room  in  the 
hollow  and  made  to  run  the  drills  in  the  quarry. 

Albert  F.  Manley  was  the  first  foreman  of  the 
Sutherland  Falls  Quarry.  Among  the  laborers  were 
William  Ward,  Jeff  Howard,  Moses  Humphrey,  Thomas 
Spencer  and  Hills  Taylor,  the  father  of  B.  F.  Taylor. 
Mr.  Taylor  drove  the  four-horse  team  which  hauled 
the  sawed  marble  to  Whitehall,  N.  Y.,  the  nearest 
reliable  market.  He  afterward  became  a  marble  worker, 
continuing  at  it  until  nearly  the  close  of  his  life.  Fol- 
lowing Mr.  Taylor,  Thomas  Derby  and  Smith  Mead 
were  employed  as  drivers  on  the  Whitehall  trips.  Mr. 
Manley  was  succeeded  by  C.  H.  Osborn  as  foreman  of 
the  quarry. 

A  few  rods  west  of  the  original  Sutherland  Falls 
Mill  was  the  blacksmith  shop,  later  turned  into  a 
coping  shop,  where  Hills  Taylor  worked,  and  where 
his  son  B.  F.  Taylor  learned  the  rudiments  of  marble 
working.  This  dates  back  to  1865.  Near  this  shop  was 
the  ox  barn  where  a  substantial  part  of  the  motive 
power  of  the  industry  was  housed.  In  the  early  years 
of  the  mill  the  only  way  to  get  marble  up  to  the  track 
level  was  to  put  it  on  stone  boats  and  trust  to  the  oxen 
and  their  drivers.  As  late  as  1880  there  were  no  more 
than  eight  or  ten  horses  about  the  plant  and  they  were 
driven  singly.  Nearly  all  the  hauling  was  done  by  oxen. 
The  change  to  horses  followed  the  introduction  of  a 
special  harness — one  in  which  a  single  chain  displaced 
the  old  whiffletrees,  thus  eliminating  the  danger  of 
chipping  the  marble. 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        125 

The  original  mill  secured  its  power  from  an  over- 
shot wheel,  which  was  placed  about  forty  feet  below 
the  present  level  of  the  railway  track.  The  gangs  were 
suspended  by  hemp  ropes  and  let  down  by  a  crank. 
In  the  day  of  the  Dorr  &  Myers  eight-gang  mill  beside 
the  railway  track  there  was  a  building  between  the 
upper  and  lower  mill  levels  which  was  used  at  different 
periods  as  a  shop,  office  and  store.  It  also  served  tem.- 
porarily  as  a  dwelling  for  a  man  by  the  name  of  Daly. 
When  Francis  A.  Fisher  was  running  the  marble  busi- 
ness for  the  North  River  Mining  Co.,  and  living  in  the 
Senator  Proctor  house,  he  had  a  room  in  this  building 
set  apart  as  his  official  headquarters.  It  was  afterward 
turned  into  an  office  for  Hughes  &  Roberts  another  of 
the  transitory  companies  which  strove  to  raise  a  for- 
tune out  of  the  earth. 

Power  was  first  applied  to  the  upper  mill  by  an  up- 
right shaft  which  stood  directly  back  of  the  Patterson 
Mill  of  today.  This  was  subsequently  replaced  by  the 
inclined  shaft  which  was  retained  in  service  until 
electric  power  was  installed.  In  the  sixties  the  water 
at  the  Falls  was  turning  three  different  water  wheels. 
It  ran  into  the  old  mill  through  a  raceway.  Leaving 
there  it  was  coveyed  by  penstock  to  another  wheel 
which  was  set  part  way  down  the  incline.  Then  it  was 
sent  out  again  by  penstock  or  raceway  to  the  wheel 
at  the  base  of  the  inclined  shaft. 

The  track  from  the  upper  mill  to  the  quarries  was 
one  of  the  improvements  of  1869.  It  was  later  ex- 
tended to  the  lower  mill  by  Senator  Proctor.  At  that 
stage  of  the  industry's  development  very  little  filling 
had  been  done  in  the  marble  yards.  The  Beaver  Pond 
Brook  ran  through  a  gorge  south  of  Patterson's  Mill. 
When  the  railroad  was  laid  out  a  culvert  was  provided 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        127 

so  that  the  water  might  have  an  outlet,  but  some  of  it 
settled  back  into  the  hollow  forming  a  marshy  pond. 
This  section  of  the  village  straightway  took  upon 
itself  the  rather  questionable  title  of  "Skunk  Hollow." 
In  certain  parts  of  the  yard  trestles  were  required  in 
order  to  maintain  the  grade  of  the  quarry  track.  F.  R. 
Patch,  President  of  the  Patch  Manufacturing  Co., 
Rutland,  and  a  son  of  J.  L.  Patch,  recalls  that  he  was 
working  with  his  father  on  one  of  these  trestles  while 
Chicago  was  burning. 

Blocks  were  let  down  over  this  track  by  a  cable 
and  the  working  of  this  cable  and  the  machinery  con- 
nected with  it  was  the  source  of  endless  creaking  and 
rumbling.  When  Mr.  Patch  was  a  boy  living  in  his 
father's  house  at  the  foot  of  Patch  Hill,  the  youngsters 
of  the  neighborhood  gave  another  interpretation  to  the 
rolling  of  the  cable.  To  them  it  was  the  thunder  of  the 
mountains. 

Supplementing  the  work  of  his  father,  F.  R.  Patch 
was  an  able  participant  in  the  construction  work  which 
went  hand  in  hand  with  the  growing  business.  He  built 
the  present  Senator  Proctor  house.  (The  first  house 
on  that  lot  was  burned  in  1883.)  He  reared  a  home  for 
himself  on  South  Street,  the  place  which  is  now  being 
utilized  as  a  Catholic  Rectory.  The  mills  north  of  the 
first  stone  mill  on  the  upper  level  were  raised  under  his 
supervision.  When  the  mills  were  finished  he  was  em- 
ployed for  a  time  as  mill  foreman  and  later  he  was  made 
general  superintendent.  He  was  the  designer  of  the 
Proctor  Union  Church. 

In  the  sixties  the  Sutherland  Falls  Quarry  was 
barely  twenty  feet  deep  and  the  men  went  in  and  out 
on  ladders.  The  sand  bank  known  as  "Benson  Hill" 
extended  nearly   to   the  railway   track.  A  store  stood 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        129 

between  the  railroad  and  the  sand  bank  and  there  was 
hardly  room  to  get  around  It.  This  store  was  the  nu- 
cleus of  the  Proctor  Cooperative  Store,  the  birth  and 
upgrowth  of  which  will  be  treated  in  another  chapter. 

The  first  marble  finishing  undertaken  by  the  Com- 
pany in  1876  was  the  turning  of  urns.  The  shop  stood 
on  ground  now  covered  by  the  monumental  boxing 
room.  A  man  named  Gilbert  was  shop  foreman. 

Work  of  this  kind  had  been  inaugurated  at  an 
earlier  period  by  the  Columbian  Marble  Company 
and  to  that  concern  goes  the  credit  for  operating  the 
first  lathes  in  Vermont. 

Altogether  there  have  been  three  monumental 
finishing  shops  in  Proctor. 

In  December,  1885,  on  one  of  the  coldest  nights 
of  the  season,  the  shop,  boxing  room  and  station  were 
counted  out  by  fire.  The  cry  was  raised  at  eleven  o'clock 
with  the  thermometer  fixed  at  15  degrees  below  zero. 
Little  could  be  done  under  such  conditions  except  work 
for  the  safety  of  the  adjoining  buildings  and  make 
plans  for  a  continuance  of  the  work  of  the  shop.  As  a 
temporary  makeshift  a  lease  was  secured  of  the  Baker 
Mill  at  the  Double  Roads  Crossing.  This  was  the  center 
of  the  combined  finishing  activities  while  machinery 
was  being  bolted  into  place  in  the  building  shop  and  in 
the  north  end  of  Haley's  Mill. 

The  second  monumental  shop  extended  northward 
from  the  site  of  the  burned  structure  to  the  one-story 
mill.  It  was  also  reinforced  on  the  south  by  a  twenty- 
four  gang  mill,  which,  except  that  it  had  only  one  story, 
is  duplicated  by  the  Johnson  Mill  of  today. 

Two  or  three  pages  in  the  scrap  book  are  dedicated 
to  the  second  Proctor  fire.  This  quotation  from  the 
Rutland  Herald,  dated  July  3,  1894,  tells  something 
of  the  struggle  of  that  hazardous  night: 


130  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

"Fire  started  about  midnight  in  the  main  mill  of 
the  Vermont  Marble  Company  at  Proctor,  The  fire 
spread  with  great  rapidity,  and  at  one  time  it  seemed 
as  though  the  entire  mill  was  doomed.  The  building 
is  400  feet  long,  80  feet  wide  and  two  stories  high. 
The  finishing  shop  and  the  new  mill  were  entirely  de- 
stroyed. The  contents  included  24  gangs  of  saws  and 
a  large  amount  of  marble  in  process  of  preparation  for 
the  market.  At  i  -.30  o'clock  the  fire  threatened  to 
spread  from  the  finishing  shop  to  the  Patterson  and 
Haley  mills.  The  mills  were  all  under  one  roof  and 
strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  check  the  fire  at  that 
point.  Scores  of  men  were  on  the  roof  with  buckets  of 
water,  while  other  men  erected  barricades  of  marble 
against  the  tin  covered  partition  doors  which  connected 
the  different  mills.  President  Fletcher  Proctor  per- 
sonally superintended  the  battle  at  this  point.  At  two 
o'clock  the  steamer  from  Rutland  arrived  and  was 
greeted  with  a  cheer  from  the  large  crowd.  Hose  had 
been  laid  from  a  point  on  the  creek  directly  back  of 
Senator  Proctor's  house  to  the  critical  point  of  the  fire. 
By  this  means,  and  through  the  efforts  of  the  bucket 
brigade,  the  fire  was  kept  from  spreading  beyond  the 
heavy  partition  walls  at  the  north  end  of  the  finishing 
shop." 

In  this  second  interval  of  rebuilding  the  business 
of  finishing  was  carried  on  in  the  shop  at  Center  Rutland 
and  in  the  old  Sheldon  Finishing  Shop  at  West  Rutland. 
Prior  to  the  loss  the  Company  had  16  mill  gangs  idle 
in  Proctor  and  75  in  West  Rutland,  so  that  the  question 
of  sawing  was  of  negligible  import. 

These  two  conflagrations  are  not  the  only  ones 
which  the  Company  has  had  to  withstand,  but  they  are 
the  ones  which  left  the  deepest  scars.  In  January,  1907, 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        131 

the  cooperative  store  at  Center  Rutland  was  cut  off  by 
the  fire  king.  In  later  years  the  mills  at  Beldens  and 
Brandon  have  gone  the  same  way.  In  August,  191 5,  a 
fire  at  West  Rutland  blotted  out  the  carpenter's  shop 
and  several  storage  buildings.  Yet  in  none  of  these 
instances  has  the  entire  plant  been  threatened  as  in 
the  case  of  the  monumental  shop  fires. 

Within  the  memory  of  Mr,  Taylor  the  flat  roofed 
mill  on  the  lower  level  wore  on  its  forward  crest  a  row 
of  diminished  marble  spires  which  flaunted  themselves 
in  the  air  like  the  feathers  of  an  Indian's  head-gear. 
The  purpose  of  this  display  was  to  tell  the  passengers 
on  the  leisurely  moving  trains  of  the  work  that  was 
going  on  there  in  the  valley  and  to  suggest  some  of  the 
uses  to  which  marble  was  being  applied.  It  is  obvious, 
therefore,  that  the  marble  workers  of  that  day  were 
not  unmindful  of  the  power  of  advertising. 

Nor  must  it  be  assumed  that  no  previous  attempt 
had  been  made  to  create  publicity  for  Vermont  marble. 
The  Rutland  Herald  of  1848  carried  an  advertisement 
of  Davis,  Morgan  &  Company,  which  featured  in 
highly  colored  bombastic  phrases  the  marble  from  the 
celebrated  West  Rutland  quarries.  Perhaps  the  cam- 
paign was  started  even  before  that  time. 

One  fact  seems  to  have  been  positively  established: 
the  work  of  the  monumental  salesman  in  those  days 
was  most  indefinite  and  unfruitful.  Henry  Donnelly, 
a  resident  of  Proctor  since  1875,  and  the  first  occupant 
of  the  Serri  house,  has  kept  in  mind  some  of  the  reminis- 
cences of  T.  J.  Ormsbee.  Mr.  Ormsbee  was  one  of  the 
first  salesmen  in  the  Rutland  section,  and  he  maintained 
that  it  was  not  enough  simply  to  do  the  selling.  One 
never  knew  whether  a  sale  meant  money  or  merely  an 
exchange  of  commodities.  Things  as  diversified  in  value 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        133 

and  utility  as  an  old  Continental  Army  uniform  and  a 
bear  trap  were  handed  over  to  him  in  payment  for 
tombstones. 

In  the  spring  of  1876  the  Company  built  a  two- 
story  stone  mill  of  12  gangs.  This  was  the  north  section 
of  the  Patterson  Mill,  where  the  stairs  lead  up  to  the 
sand  tramway.  It  was  set  on  a  ledge  and  men  were  at 
work  there  during  the  winter  of  1875-76,  blasting  and 
cutting  to  get  a  foundation.  In  1880  work  was  com- 
menced on  the  first  section  of  Haley's  Mill.  The  other 
addition  to  the  northward  was  made  about  two  years 
later.  Under  the  north  end  of  Haley's  Mill  was  a  gulch 
fully  100  feet  deep. 

It  was  related  by  John  D.  Andrews,  who  arrived 
in  Proctor  in  1875,  ^hat  when  he  began  work  here  one 
twelve-foot  rubbing  bed  was  all  that  was  owned  or 
needed  by  the  Sutherland  Falls  Marble  Co. 

The  first  Building  Shop  went  up  in  the  summer  of 
1880,  the  site  being  very  nearly  identical  with  the 
present  shop.  It  was  100  feet  long  and  56  feet  wide. 
Additions  and  changes  were  made  from  time  to  time 
so  that  the  Building  Shop  of  1922  is  quite  a  different 
structure.  The  first  foreman  of  exterior  building  was 
Thomas  Hagan,  father  of  Dr.  Hagan  of  Pittsford.  The 
first  cutters,  fifteen  or  twenty  in  number,  were  brought 
here  from  Boston.  The  first  large  building  exterior  to 
be  cut  in  Proctor — the  State  Capitol  at  Indianapolis, 
Ind. — was  produced  in  1881.  It  included  72  polished 
marble  columns  thirteen  feet  high  and  two  feet  four 
inches  in  diameter.  The  second  building  shop  foreman 
was  James  Edson,  since  deceased,  a  brother  of  Albert 
W.  Edson.  After  that,  A.  C.  Freeborn  was  made  super- 
intendent of  exterior  building  with  J.  D.  Andrews  as 
the  third  foreman. 


134  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

The  first  Italian  cutters  to  work  in  Proctor  were 
Dante  Bacolli  and  A.  Fabiani.  Two  more  came  a  little 
later,  Tony  Parini  and  Frank  Balduci.  These  men 
have  all  left  town,  although  Mr.  Fabiani  has  a  daughter 
here,  the  wife  of  A.  Zambelli. 

The  first  Swedish  employe  in  Proctor  was  Lars 
John  Larson.  Senator  Proctor  hired  him  in  New  York, 
a  Swedish  imigrant  just  in  from  the  old  country.  Larson 
worked  here  for  about  eight  years,  beginning  in  1870. 
He  finally  left  the  Company  to  become  a  Maine  farmer. 

In  1875  the  Company's  Machine  Shop  was  near 
the  Sutherland  Falls  Quarry.  It  was  equipped  with 
only  a  few  machines.  Later  a  shop  was  opened  on 
the  second  floor  of  the  Steel  Building.  The  Carpenter's 
Shop  was  in  its  present  position.  The  Company's  Barn 
was  in  the  hollow  north  of  the  Old  Library  Building. 
Teasdale  was  then  foreman  of  the  finishing  shop  and 
Matthews  was  mill  foreman,  and  it  is  with  the  initials 
of  those  names  "T"  and  "M"  that  stock  for  those  de- 
partments is  still  being  marked. 

The  road  of  that  day  skirted  the  ledge  west  of  the 
Senator  Proctor  place,  continuing  north  on  the  east 
side  of  the  railway  track,  turning  at  right  angles  west 
of  Stillson's  rubbing  beds,  and  bearing  northwest 
toward  the  present  machine  shop.  North  of  the  ma- 
chine shop  was  a  stone  bridge  for  the  crossing  of  Beaver 
Pond  Brook,  and  from  that  point  the  road  passed  back 
of  the  carpenter  shop  where  it  joined  the  market  road 
at  the  corner  by  the  Swedish  Boarding  House. 

It  was  in.  1885  that  the  Company's  Ofiice  of  today 
began  to  take  form.  The  building  then  being  used  for 
that  purpose  was  north  of  the  store  and  the  store  was 
where  the  rubbing  beds  and  shipping  office  now  stand, 
flanked  on  the  one  side  by  the  coping  shop  and  on  the 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        135 

other  by  the  railroad.  In  front  of  the  store  was  the 
track  where  the  blocks  were  let  down  from  the  quarry. 
In  the  upper  mill  yard  was  a  turn  table  where  the 
blocks  for  the  lower  mill  were  switched  off  and  sent 
down  under  the  storage  building  and  finishing  shop  to 
the  end  of  the  track.  South  of  the  string  of  mills  on  the 
office  level  was  a  small  shed  used  as  a  coping  shop; 
next  to  that- was  the  building  for  storage  and  boxing; 
then  the  monumental  shop;  and  beyond  that  the  rail- 
way station — if  indeed  anything  so  small  can  be  allotted 
so  large  a  name. 

Under  the  same  roof  with  the  monumental  shop 
were  the  library  and  the  grist  mill — a  somewhat  un- 
harmonious  combination.  The  grist  mill  was  in  the 
basement,  or  in  that  part  of  the  structure  which  jutted 
down  to  fit  the  slope  of  the  hill.  Over  that  was  the 
cutting  shop.  On  the  upper  floor  in  front  was  the  libra- 
ry with  the  polishing  shop  in  the  rear.  It  will  be  under- 
stood, no  doubt,  that  the  library  section,  during  work- 
ing hours  at  least,  was  for  the  storage  of  books  rather 
than  for  reading. 

The  dedication  of  the  new  office  in  1886  marked 
a  span  of  fifty  years  in  the  marble  industry  at  Suther- 
land Falls,  and  of  the  many  men  who  had  charge  of 
operations  there,  only  one,  Redfield  Proctor,  had  the 
insight  and  the  tenacity  to  lift  the  business  out  of  the 
invalid  class  and  give  it  health  and  prosperity.  It 
would  be  futile  to  write  of  the  qualities  of  leadership 
with  which  Mr.  Proctor  was  endowed.  All  this  has  been 
set  forth  with  unmistakable  clearness  by  men  who  knew 
him  and  worked  with  him.  There  are  however  a  few 
little  incidents  related  by  some  of  the  older  employes 
of  the  Company  which  illumine,  each  in  its  own  peculiar 
way,  well  defined  phases  of  his  character. 


VERMONT    MARBLE    COMPANY'S   POWER   HOUSE    REPLACED    BY 
HYDRO-ELECTRIC  PLANT  IN   1905 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        137 

One  man  avers  that  while  the  Senator  expected  his 
employes  to  keep  at  work,  he  was  always  ready  to  work 
with  them,  and  in  any  kind  of  weather.  On  rainy  days 
he  simply  combined  a  long  coat  with  his  wide-brimmed 
hat,  and  if  anyone  remonstrated  with  him  against 
staying  out  in  the  yard  he  would  argue  that  it  was  the 
best  time  for  yard  work,  as  the  cracks  in  the  marble 
were  most  easily  detected  in  wet  weather. 

Then  there  is  the  story  of  the  balky  horse.  In 
the  seventies,  or  possibly  the  early  eighties,  the  Com- 
pany had  an  exceedingly  temperamental  horse  which 
was  used  to  draw  sand  to  the  mills  and  deliver  goods 
from  the  store.  Sometimes  he  would  go  but  quite 
often  he  would  stay.  The  Senator  made  a  survey  of 
his  forces  and  told  a  certain  driver  named  Haley  to 
try  the  horse,  intimating  that  if  he  failed  to  make  him 
go  the  animal  would  be  sold.  It  so  happened  that  Mr. 
Haley  had  been  placed  in  charge  of  a  gang  of  laborers 
and  had  no  relish  for  the  new  job.  The  Senator  had 
advised  putting  on  a  light  load  at  first,  but  instead  of 
that  Haley  shoveled  on  all  the  wagon  would  hold. 
Moreover,  he  dug  holes  under  the  wheels  in  order 
to  make  the  start  still  more  laborious.  Then,  climbing 
up  to  the  seat  and  picking  up  the  lines  loosely,  he  sug- 
gested to  the  beast  that  it  was  time  to  start.  He  ex- 
pected that  the  horse  would  stand  there  indefinitely 
and  that  he  would  be  permitted  to  return  to  his  men. 
But  altogether  to  his  surprise  and  disgust,  the  animal 
walked  away  with  the  load  unhesitatingly,  whereupon 
James  Haley  was  asked  to  continue  as  its  driver.  This 
he  did,  indeed,  for  several  years,  until  he  threatened  to 
leave  if  no  other  work  was  available.  It  was  decided  on 
the  strength  of  his  experience  that  the  horse  had  a 
tender  mouth  instead  of  a  balky  disposition,  and  that 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        139 

Haley,  by  not  trying  to  drive  it,  had  accomplished  what 
could  never  have  been  gained  by  more  vigorous  tactics. 

In  1 87 1  James  Haney  and  five  or  six  other  men 
appeared  before  Senator  Proctor  and  asked  for  a  job. 
He  agreed  to  give  them  work  for  two  weeks.  He  told 
them  that  times  were  hard,  yet  at  the  same  time  he 
emphasized  the  fact  that  he  had  never  discharged  a 
good  man.  Mr.  Haney  did  odd  jobs  around  the  yards 
during  those  two  weeks,  and  for  some  time  thereafter. 
Finally,  in  the  early  part  of  December,  the  Senator 
came  around  and  told  Haney  that  he  had  just  let  a  lot 
of  old  men  go  and  asked  if  he  thought  he  could  get  a  job 
on  a  farm  for  the  winter. 

"I  can  try,"  replied  Haney. 

"I'd  like  to  have  you  come  back  in  the  spring," 
the  Senator  assured  him. 

"I  can't  promise  that,"  said  Haney.  "Has  my  work 
been  satisfactory?" 

"Yes,"  answered  the  Senator. 

"I  thought  you  told  me  you  never  let  a  good  man 
go,"  Haney  reminded  him. 

The  Senator  had  started  to  walk  away  but  at  that 
he  turned  around. 

"Well,  I  haven't,  have  I,"  was  his  unruffled  re- 
joinder. And  Mr.  Haney  has  only  lately  been  placed  on 
the  Company's  pension  roll  after  fifty  years  of  service. 

Possibly  it  was  in  the  handling  of  men  more  than 
in  any  other  one  capacity  that  Senator  Proctor  dis- 
played his  genius  for  business.  Not  alone  in  picking 
good  men,  but  in  keeping  them,  was  he  a  master  of 
industrial  methods.  And  he  was  ready  at  all  times  to 
do  his  part  toward  raising  men  to  an  efficient  standard. 
Mr.  Powers  has  on  record  the  case  of  a  man  discharged 
for  drunkenness,   whom    the   Senator   agreed   to   take 


140  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

back  if  he  would  give  five  dollars  to  every  poor  widow- 
in  town.  It  was  estimated  that  the  price  of  his  rein- 
statement on  that  basis  would  be  about  thirty-five 
dollars.  And  with  an  eager  "I'll  do  it,"  the  man  ac- 
cepted the  terms  and  returned  to  work. 

In  Mr.  Partridge's  address  is  a  brief  analysis  of 
the  careers  of  both  Senator  Proctor  and  his  son,  Fletcher 
D.  Proctor.  He  explains  how  one  as  founder  and  the 
other  as  the  organizer  were  adapted  to  the  work  of  their 
respective  periods — how  each  gathered  unto  himself 
the  men  who  were  needed  to  systematize  and  bring 
into  harmony  many  scattered  departments.  AU  this  is 
ably  summarized  in  the  St.  Albans  Messenger  of  Feb. 
5,  1902,  in  an  editorial  which  was  inspired  by  the  re- 
organization of  the  Company  corporation. 

"From  its  inception,"  the  writer  declared,  "the 
Vermont  Marble  Company  was  a  Vermont  enterprise, 
instituted  by  a  Vermont  man,  a  typical  Green  Moun- 
tain Boy,  Redfield  Proctor.  Those  who  know  the  inner 
details  of  his  first  experience  in  the  marble  business 
can  tell  something  of  a  story  of  home  industry,  pluck 
and  perseverance,  sometimes  in  the  face  of  discourage- 
ments, but  always  and  ever  supported  by  character- 
istic determination,  fixity  of  purpose  and  lofty  aspira- 
tions that  must  eventually  break  or  be  broken.  There 
could  be  no  other  reason  than  that  the  Company 
flourished,  no  other  outcome  of  the  brains,  patience, 
and  industry  that  fathered  it,  but  that  the  foundation 
should  be  laid  for  the  largest  marble  quarrying  and 
finishing  business  on  the  globe.  But  if  Redfield  Proctor 
laid  the  foundation,  the  second  generation  reared  the 
structure  to  its  present  proportions.  To  the  young  men 
who  became  interested  in  the  business  from  time  to 
time,  the  elder  Proctor  gradually  relinquished  control 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARBLE  INDUSTRY        141 

of  the  management,  and  for  the  past  few  years,  he  has 
made  no  pretense  whatever  of  knowing  anything  about 
it.  The  far-reaching  ramifications  of  this  great  industry 
are  today  the  immediate  results  of  young  Vermont 
brains  and  stick-to-it-iveness,  the  work  of  "The  Boys" 
as  Senator  Proctor  proudly  calls  them.  This  institution 
was  conceived  in  a  Vermont  brain,  and  literally  built 
out  of  Vermont  rock  by  Vermont  men.  It  is  distinctive- 
ly of  and  for  Vermont  in  all  its  parts  and  aspects,  and 
the  Vermont  spirit  behind  it  could  not  complacently 
see  it  masquerade  longer  behind  a  New  York  charter — - 
We  need  in  all  our  business  circles  the  same  enthu- 
siastic loyalty  to  the  'Vermont  Idea'  that  has  ever 
animated  and  inspired  the  personnel  of  the  Vermont 
Marble  Company." 

It  would  be  manifestly  incomplete  to  close  this 
chapter  without  taking  a  casual  inventory  of  the  pres- 
ent. It  is  hardly  enough  to  bring  the  industry  up  to 
the  year  1922  and  then  drop  it  unceremoniously,  even 
though  present-day  figures  may  be  fairly  well  known. 

The  Company  now  produces  about  21,000  blocks 
annually,  owns  seventy-five  or  more  quarries,  from 
which  are  obtained  fifty  different  grades  and  varieties. 
The  yearly  output  of  marble  is  approximately  1,000,000 
cubic  feet.  The  shops  and  mills  cover  a  floor  space  of 
about  twenty-seven  acres.  In  Proctor  alone  they 
stretch  out  to  a  length  of  1,500  feet  and  there  are  other 
plants  at  Center  Rutland,  West  Rutland,  Florence,. 
Brandon,  Middlebury,  Swanton,  Roxbury,  Danby, 
Dorset,  Manchester,  Bluff  Point,  N.  Y.,  San  Saba, 
Texas  and  Tokeen,  Alaska.  There  are  branches  in 
many  of  the  more  important  cities.  There  are  nearly 
fifty  traveling  salesmen. 

The  land  owned  by  the  Company,  woodland  and 


RISE  OF  VERMONT  MARP3LE  INDUSTRY        143 

farms,  amounts  to  more  that  26,000  acres.  The  hydro- 
electric stations  on  the  banks  of  the  Otter  bring  to  the 
Company's  machinery  a  force  of  nearly  12,000  horse 
power.  Each  year  the  Company  uses  more  than  6,000,- 
000  square  feet  of  lumber.  The  number  of  employees 
ranges  from  3,000  to  4,000. 

In  place  of  the  one  balky  horse  which  hauled  in 
the  sand  from  the  knoll  near  the  mills,  the  Company 
has  substituted  an  aerial  tramway  which  brings  it  in 
from  a  huge  sand  hill  two-and-a-quarter  miles  over 
the  mountain  at  the  rate  of  500  pounds  every  twenty- 
eight  seconds.  The  system  was  installed  in  1900.  An 
earlier  tramway  to  the  foot  of  Patch  Hill  had  been 
constructed  in  1894  but  the  supply  at  that  point  was 
soon  moved  into  the  mills.  It  was  then  that  the  larger 
deposit  was  discovered  and  the  tramway  extended. 

In  a  brief  sketch  of  this  kind,  there  is  room  for 
nothing  save  the  larger  developments  of  the  industry. 
This  is  not  the  story  of  marble;  it  is  the  story  of  Proctor. 
Therefore  it  must  concern  itself  only  with  those  phases 
of  the  business  which  are  of  interest  to  the  outsider, 
and  leave  the  technical  records  in  the  vaults  of  the 
Company.  Very  few  people  will  care  to  know  when 
pneumatic  tools  and  carborundum  machines  were  in- 
stalled in  the  shops  or  when  the  yards  were  equipped 
with  locomotive  cranes.  The  interesting  feature  of  it 
is  that  they  have  become  a  part  of  the  industry,  that 
they  are  saving  labor  and  working  for  the  prosperity 
of  the  town.  Nor  would  it  be  worth  while  to  describe 
each  individual  quarry  hole  within  the  Proctor  limits, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  some  of  them  have  a 
most  tragic  history,  involving  the  loss  of  fortunes  and 
good  names. 

An  entire  chapter  might  be  written  on  the  Lime 


144  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

Plant,  built  in  191 5  at  West  Rutland,  where  quarried 
marble  blocks  unsuited  for  the  regular  market  are 
being  turned  into  lime  at  the  rate  of  sixty  tons  a  day. 
Again  there  is  the  system  of  Company  Farms,  operated 
under  a  partnership  plan  for  the  common  good  of  the 
community.  There  will  be  another  reference  to  these 
farms  as  the  story  progresses,  but  just  now  it  is  best 
to  keep  land  and  lime  and  all  other  minor  issues  in  the 
shadow.  For,  when  everything  has  been  said,  it  all 
leads  back  again  to  the  subject  of  marble. 

Well  may  this  chapter  be  longer  and  more  ex- 
haustive than  any  of  the  others.  With  grist  mills  and 
saw  mills,  Sutherland  Falls  would  have  had  little 
chance  to  raise  itself  above  the  level  of  the  ordinary 
country  town.  With  marble,  and  the  publicity  accruing 
therefrom,  it  has  made  itself  known  the  country  over 
and  to  the  lands  beyond  the  seas. 

Recognition  of  this  kind  sometimes  goes  to  the 
head  of  towns  as  well  as  of  people.  Not  so  in  the  case 
of  the  little  marble  village  at  the  Falls.  The  arrival 
of  prosperity  enabled  it  to  shake  off  its  old  clothes 
and  put  on  richer  and  more  modern  adornment.  Yet 
through  it  all  it  clung  to  its  native  modesty  and  sim- 
plicity. Change  followed  change,  more  perhaps  than 
in  any  other  industrial  section  of  the  Green  Mountain 
Country,  but  none  of  them  had  any  effect  on  the  town's 
democracy.  It  remained  quiet  and  unassuming,  living 
its  life  decently  and  doing  its  work  in  a  sane  energetic 
way. 


CHAPTER  VI 
FROM  A  SETTLEMENT  TO  A  NEW  TOWN 

BLASTING   AND   FILLING LAYING   OUT   STREETS   AND 

BUILDING    HOMES WATER    SYSTEMS LEGIS- 
LATIVE  STRUGGLES    OVER    SEPARATION 

OF  TOWN PROCTOR  IN   STATE 

AND  NATION 

THE  same  monotonous  digging,  which  was  re- 
quired to  build  the  marble  plants,  was  none 
the  less  in  evidence  in  the  building  of  the  town. 
There  were  few  level  spots  available.  Nearly  all  the 
houses  had  to  be  raised  on  the  side  of  some  hill.  Al- 
though in  many  instances  there  were  no  ledges  to  dis- 
lodge, it  was  seldom  that  the  work  of  filling  could  be 
even  partially  curtailed. 

John  D.  Andrews,  who  was  living  in  1880  in  the 
house  which  still  bears  his  name,  has  given  us  many 
pertinent  reminiscences  of  that  home-building  period. 

The  Andrews,  the  Glasson  and  the  Spencer  houses, 
were  reared  in  the  fall  of  1879,  when  Henry  Woodbury 
was  superintendent  of  the  Company.  At  that  time  Mr. 
Woodbury  resided  in  what  is  now  the  Fairbanks  dwell- 
ing, which  had  been  completed  during  the  previous 
year.  The  Spencer  home  which  has  recently  grown  into 
Ormsbee  House,  was  put  up  for  Mr.  Teasdale,  the  first 
foreman  of  the  Monumental  Shop. 

In  1880,  High  Street,  which  was  then  nothing  but 
a  road,  ran  south   to   the  James  Glasson  place  and 

145 


FROM  A  SETTLEMENT  TO  A  TOWN  147 

ended  there.  It  was  the  only  driveway  to  the  hill. 
The  Patterson  house  was  the  first  to  be  built  along  the 
line  of  Pine  Street.  There  was  no  street  there  at  the 
time  and  the  timbers  were  taken  up  to  High  Street 
and  slid  down  the  bank. 

The  christening  of  Pine  Street  was  brought  about 
in  this  way.  In  the  winter  of  1880,  Harry  Powers  came 
home  from  Middlebury  College  for  the  mid-year  vaca- 
tion. He  had  been  studying  surveying  and  somehow 
he  learned  that  Colonel  Proctor  had  a  set  of  instruments. 
Thinking  that  he  might  get  a  little  practice  on  his 
father's  farm  during  the  recess,  he  presented  himself 
at  the  office  and  asked  for  the  loan  of  this  outfit. 

"Yes,  you  can  take  it,"  replied  Mr.  Proctor,  "and 
if  you  will  come  around  in  the  morning,  I'll  give  you  a 
job." 

Knowing  nothing  of  what  he  was  to  do,  Mr.  Powers 
reported  at  the  office  the  following  morning.  Colonel 
Proctor  led  him  out  across  the  marble  yard  and  pointed 
up  through  the  unbroken  tangle  of  brush  and  trees. 
"I  want  to  run  a  street  through  there,"  he  said,  "I'll 
show  you  where  I'd  like  to  have  it  go,  then  you  can 
survey  it." 

That  was  Mr.  Powers's  first  practical  experience 
with  the  chain  and  compass;  it  was  also  the  first  street 
to  be  surveyed  in  Sutherland  Falls. 

There  was  a  big  hole  east  of  the  Snell  house  and 
in  order  to  construct  a  street  they  had  to  cart  out  three 
or  four  feet  of  black  muck  and  fill  the  hole  with  sand. 
Where  Dr.  Hack's  house  stands  was  a  swamp  hole  with 
a  small  brook  running  through  it.  The  brook  bed  was 
filled  with  cobbles  and  covered,  the  cellar  being  laid 
above  ground.  The  Hack  house  went  up  some  years 
later  than  the  others. 


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FROM  A  SETTLEMENT  TO  A  TOWN  149 

When  Church  Street  was  constructed,  there  was  a 
swamp  hole  north  and  west  of  Forresters  Hall.  This 
was  filled  to  a  depth  of  three  feet  with  stone  and  other 
material.  Apparently,  it  had  a  bottom  of  quicksand, 
as  the  filling  all  settled  out  of  sight  after  a  time  and  a 
second  lot  had  to  be  placed  on  top  of  the  first.  There 
were  no  stairs  on  the  hill  in  those  days — only  paths. 
A  fence  ran  west  from  the  foot  of  the  hill,  starting 
near  or  a  little  south  of  the  Village  Hall,  passing  south 
of  the  Charles  Ayers  house  on  Church  Street  and  ex- 
tending to  the  land  of  Hills  Taylor,  near  West  Street. 
This  fence  swerved  to  the  south  around  the  old  stone 
school  house  of  1866.  During  all  this  time,  or  until 
1875,  at  least,  Hospital  Hill  was  nothing  but  a  pasture. 

In  those  days  the  residents  had  to  rely  on  springs 
for  their  supply  of  drinking  water.  One  of  the  sources 
was  near  Tree's  Pond,  a  spot  now  covered  by  the  Ver- 
mont Marble  Company's  yard.  Another  was  a  few 
feet  west  of  the  Rutland  railway  water  tank.  This 
latter  spring  became  useless  when,  in  1883,  the  Com- 
pany built  its  new  barn,  the  one  which  is  still  in  use. 
Still  another  was  northwest  of  the  upper  reservoir,  at 
the  south  line  of  the  Chatterton  farm,  from  which 
elevation  a  pipe  had  been  laid  to  several  of  the  houses 
in  the  village. 

The  first  water  system,  which  brought  the  water 
of  the  upper  reservoir  to  certain  sections  of  the  vil- 
lage, was  put  in  operation  in  1896-7.  With  this  came 
the  first  sewerage  connection.  In  1898  the  mains  were 
extended  over  a  larger  area,  the  total  cost  being  about 
$56,000.  The  drought  of  1899  proved  among  other 
things  that  the  upper  reservoir  was  inadequate  as  a 
water  supply  and  so  the  lower  reservoir  was  walled  up 
and  connected  with  a  pumping  station,  so  that  in  case 


FROM  A  SETTLEMENT  TO  A  TOWN  151 

of  emergency  it  could  be  forced  up  into  the  stand-pipe. 
This  pump  was  placed  in  the  marble  enclosure,  which 
now  forms  the  basement  walls  of  the  Lyle  Morse  house 
on  South  Street. 

In  1903  the  growing  village  was  again  calling  for 
more  water.  Various  tests  were  made  in  Pittsford  and 
Chittenden,  leading  to  the  purchase  finally  of  the  site 
for  an  intake  on  Coal  Kiln  Brook  in  the  latter  town. 
This  land  was  the  property  of  C.  R.  Holden  and  from 
him  the  village  also  bought  additional  rights  on  Fur- 
nace Brook,  so  that  if  the  need  arises  another  intake 
can  be  established  above  the  Holden  residence.  With 
this  in  reserve,  no  one  who  lives  in  Proctor  need  worry 
over  what  he  is  to  drink. 

It  is  like  turning  the  leaves  of  an  old  scrap  book  to 
listen  to  some  of  the  stories  of  sixty  years  ago,  as  re- 
lated by  Mr.  B.  F.  Taylor.  They  are  set  before  us  like 
the  pictures  in  a  faded  album,  each  with  lifelike  fidelity. 

First  comes  Peter  Kivelin,  or  Peter  the  Sailor,  the 
only  laborer  in  the  Sutherland  Falls  quarry  who  knew 
how  to  splice  a  rope,  a  graduate  of  the  old  days  before 
the  mast,  and  exceedingly  jealous  of  the  knowledge 
thus  acquired.  Indeed,  so  fearful  was  he  that  some 
fellow  workman  would  learn  of  his  methods  that  he  did 
all  of  the  Company's  splicing  in  secret,  even  going  so 
far  as  to  tie  some  of  the  knots  in  the  night.  For  recrea- 
tion he  turned  to  the  shore  that  was  nearest  at  hand 
and  fished  for  suckers  on  the  banks  of  the  Otter. 

Next  in  line  stands  Michael  Benson,  the  strong 
man  of  the  village,  who  gained  his  niche  in  the  local 
hall  of  fame  by  carrying  a  barrel  of  flour  from  the  store 
to  his  home,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away.  The  store- 
keeper had  agreed  to  give  him  the  flour  if  he  would 
carry  it   the  entire  distance  without  resting.  He   ac- 


FROM  A  SETTLEMENT  TO  A  TOWN  153 

cepted  the  challenge  and  literally  walked  off  with  the 
prize.  This  man  Benson  had  been  a  well  digger  in 
younger  life  and  as  proof  of  his  efficiency,  he  often  told 
of  how  he  had  sunk  a  hole  in  Chicago  to  so  great  a  depth 
that  they  had  to  "sound  the  horn  for  dinner." 

John  Dervin,  one  of  the  mill  workers,  was  re- 
nowned as  a  fox  hunter.  Mr.  Taylor  well  remembers 
seeing  him  trail  past  the  house,  a  huge  fur  cap  on  his 
head,  a  muzzle-loading  double-barrel  shot-gun  over 
his  shoulder,  a  pack  of  hounds  behind  him,  starting 
off  for  a  day  of  sport  on  West  Mountain.  Nor  was  it 
an  empty  sport  with  Mr.  Dervin.  He  turned  many  a 
dollar  out  of  his  fox  hides. 

The  Beaver  Pond  of  that  time  and  the  brook  which 
"flowed  from  there  to  the  Otter,  was  of  real  interest  to 
the  fisherman.  It  was  in  that  brook  that  Mr.  Taylor 
did  his  first  fishing  with  a  bent  pin  for  a  hook,  a  tow 
string  for  a  line  and  a  rod  cut  from  a  neighboring  clump 
of  bushes.  He  declines  to  give  any  figures  or  weights 
on  that  first  catch;  instead  he  hurries  along  to  a  later 
period  and  tells  of  an  experience  of  Dorr  and  Myers, 
whose  connection  with  the  marble  industry  has  been 
outlined  in  another  chapter.  As  a  result  of  the  dam 
they  had  constructed,  both  the  pond  and  the  trout 
had  grown  larger.  One  summer  evening,  Mr.  Dorr 
was  fishing  from  the  west  bank  and  filling  his  basket 
with  speckled  prizes,  which  varied  in  weight  from  a 
half  pound  to  two  pounds  and  a  half.  His  partner, 
Mr.  Myers,  was  fishing  from  the  opposite  bank  and 
catching  nothing.  "As  may  be  imagined,"  observes 
Mr.  Taylor,  "the  expressions  on  the  faces  of  the  two 
anglers  were  somewhat  different." 

Living  in  Proctor  today  are  three  men  who  have 
witnessed  the  trasformation   of  the   Sutherland   Falls 


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►4 


FROM  A  SETTLEMENT  TO  A  TOWN  155 

that  Dorr  and  Myers  knew,  into  a  modern,  self-con- 
tained, self-governed  village.  Those  men  are  B.  F. 
Taylor,  H.  P.  Powers  and  M.  C.  Warner. 

In  the  midst  of  this  growing  period,  there  arose  a 
contest  as  to  whether  the  community  should  administer 
its  own  affairs  in  its  own  way  or  be  subject  to  outside 
handicaps  and  restrictions.  The  first  step  was  taken 
in  1884  when  Proctor  was  incorporated  as  a  village. 
Then  in  1886  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  Legislature, 
which  proposed  to  set  apart  the  towns  of  Proctor  and 
West  Rutland.  The  bill  was  referred  to  a  special  legis- 
lative committee  and  after  the  introduction  of  much 
testimony,  the  case  was  argued  at  length  by  opposing 
counsel,  one  of  the  pleas  for  Proctor  being  made  by 
Hon.  William  P.  Dillingham,  who  is  now  United  States 
Senator. 

This  is  not  the  time  to  dwell  on  the  details  of  that 
struggle;  all  that  need  be  said  is  that  the  bill  was  passed 
and  Proctor  and  West  Rutland  took  their  places  among 
the  towns  of  Vermont. 

The  report  of  the  committee  recommending  the 
passage  of  the  bill  is  a  much  better  summary  of  the 
evidence  than  anyone  could  expect  to  find  elsewhere. 
It  deserves  to  be  reprinted  in  full  in  this  account  of 
the  town's  birth,  but  since  there  are  parts  of  it  which 
were  of  greater  interest  then  than  they  are  today,  only 
the  more  salient  paragraphs  are  being  considered. 
Here  then  are  some  of  the  reasons  why  Proctor  was 
granted  the  boon  of  independence: 

"The  plan  of  dividing  towns  and  creating  new 
ones  is  not  novel  to  our  legislation.  The  Constitution 
of  1778  gave  the  Legislature  the  right  to  grant  charters, 
constitute  towns,  boroughs,  cities  and  counties.  Less 
than  one  hundred  of  the  towns  of  this  State  retain  their 


FROM  A  SETTLEMENT  TO  A  TOWN  157 

original  boundary  lines  intact.  Six  towns  have  ceased 
to  exist  and  their  territory  has  been  divided  among 
other  towns.  Since  1783,  nineteen  new  towns  have  been 
incorporated  out  of  other  towns. 

"Proctor  will  have  nearly  ten  and  one-half  square 
miles — a  larger  area  than  Burlington,  Montpelier, 
Vergennes,  Landgrove  and  several  other  towns. 

"It  will  have  about  1,724  inhabitants — a  number 
in  excess  of  about  one  hundred  and  ninety  other  towns 
in  the  State. 

"It  will  have  a  Grand  List  of  about  $10,000 — an 
amount  larger  than  that  of  about  two  hundred  other 
towns  in  the  State. 

"That  the  proposed  town  is  capable  of  managing 
its  own  affairs  is  admitted,  and  the  observations  of  the 
committee  fully  confirm  this.  The  schools,  one  of 
which  we  visited,  are  excellent;  the  roads,  the  best  in 
that  section;  the  village  hall,  school  houses,  churches, 
public  library,  the  general  appearance  of  the  village, 
and  its  character  for  good  order,  as  expressed  by  wit- 
nesses, are  such  that  it  may  be  fairly  called  a  model 
village. 

"All  of  the  voters  of  the  Village  of  Proctor,  except 
three;  all  of  the  farmers  in  that  part  of  District  No.  10, 
to  be  annexed,  except  one;  and  all  of  the  voters  in  that 
part  of  Pittsford  included  in  the  proposed  town  have 
expressed  such  a  wish. 

"Therefore  it  may  be  regarded  as  conclusively 
established,  that  Proctor  has  all  the  elements  of  a 
prosperous,  well  governed  and  harmonious  town,  amply 
capable  of  taking  care  of  itself,  and  better  able  to  secure 
for  itself  prosperity,  temperance  and  general  good 
government  that  it  would  be  under  the  guardianship 
of  any  other  municipality. 


FROM  A  SETTLEMENT  TO  A  TOWN  159 

"Proctor  village,  which  is  partly  in  Rutland  and 
partly  in  Pittsford,  is  situated  six  miles  north  of  Rut- 
land village,  and  separated  from  it  by  a  purely  farming 
community.  The  two  places  are  naturally,  politically, 
commercially  and  socially  distinct  and  separate 
localities. 

"We  do  not  think  that  a  section  as  distant  and 
distinct  as  Proctor  is  from  Rutland  village  should  be 
deprived  of  the  advantages  of  a  town  system  of  govern- 
ment and  put  into  a  city  against  its  will.  The  public 
wants  of  the  entire  people  of  Proctor  are  identical, 
and  their  welfare  would  undoubtedly  be  subserved 
by  being  together  in  one  town. 

*Tf  the  whole  town  of  Rutland  was  incorporated 
as  a  city,  two-thirds  of  the  people  of  Proctor  would 
be  in  the  city  of  Rutland  whose  center  would  be  six 
miles  away,  while  the  remainder  of  the  people  would 
would  be  in  the  town  of  Pittsford  and  subject  to  an 
entirely  different  management  of  local  affairs,  which 
are  in  reality  the  same. 

'Tt  is  exceedingly  inconvenient  for  the  people  of 
Proctor  to  be  compelled  to  go  six  miles  to  attend  to 
town  business,  town  and  freemen's  meetings,  primaries, 
etc.  *  *  * 

"The  running  of  the  town  line  directly  through  the 
village,  thus  placing  different  privileges,  •  duties,  and 
burdens  upon  a  common  people  is  unfortunate  and 
causes  confusion.  *  *  * 

"The  people  of  this  section  would  be  relieved  of 
the  inconvenience  and  unwieldiness  of  the  present  large 
town  meetings  of  the  whole  town. 

"Their  local  interests  and  government  would  be 
in  their  own  hands  instead  of  being  centered  in  a  much 
larger  village,  where  the  majority  of  the  voters  are  not 


FROM  A  SETTLEMENT  TO  A  TOWN  161 

familiar  with  their  wants  and  needs,  and  which  can 
not  act  so  intelligently  with  reference  thereto  as  the 
people  immediately  interested  themselves.     *  *  * 

"It  would  promote  public  improvement,  *  *  re- 
move unpleasant  differences,  *  *  preserve  the  town 
system  of  government  to  a  considerable  people  un- 
willing to  be  taken  into  a  city. 

"West  Rutland  is  divided  from  the  proposed  town 
of  Proctor  and  from  East  Rutland,  by  a  high  range  of 
hills,  only  once  broken  and  that  where  the  road  leading 
from  West  Rutland  to  Center  Rutland  passes  through. 
West  Rutland  is  four  miles  from  East  Rutland,  is  a 
thrifty  and  rapidly  growing  village.  It  has  six  churches, 
several  stores,  postoffice  and  a  good  railroad  depot. 
The  growth  of  the  village  is  north  and  south  from  the 
center  and  not  towards  East  Rutland. 

"North  of  West  Rutland  lies  a  valley  running 
westerly  of  the  high  range  of  hills  alluded  to.  This  val- 
ley is  four  miles  long  to  the  northerly  line  of  the  town  of 
Rutland,  and  is  a  fine  farming  region,  and  also  contains 
the  principal  marble  deposits  and  quarries,  which 
largely  contribute  to  the  growth  and  flourishing  condi- 
tion of  this  village,  containing  telegraph,  a  telephone, 
and  the  usual  small  manufactures  and  shops  for  con- 
venience of  the  people. 

"The  area  of  the  proposed  town  of  West  Rutland 
comprises  about  one-third  of  the  whole  town  of  Rut- 
land; population  4,000;  Grand  List,  without  exemp- 
tions, $21,000;  including  exemptions  soon  to  be  taxed, 
about  1^23,000;  voters  724,  larger  than  Montpelier  in 
population,  with  two-thirds  as  large  a  Grand  List,  and 
more  than  three  times  its  territory.  We  found  there  all 
the  elements  necessary  to  make  a  first-class  town,  and 
we  think  a  city  charter  embracing  the  whole  town  of 


FROM  A  SETTLEMENT  TO  A  TOWN  163 

Rutland  would  be  a  great  injustice  to  this  thriving 
community,  so  separated  by  natural  situation  from 
the  other  villages  of  the  town.  The  town  business 
cannot  be  transacted,  or  the  general  interest  of  her 
people  be  made  identical  with  the  whole  town  of  East 
Rutland,  without  great  inconvenience  and  expense. 

"All  that  has  been  said  of  the  incorporation  of  the 
town  of  Proctor  will  apply  in  this  case. 

"After  the  division  Rutland  will  have  ample 
territory.  In  population  it  will  stand  second,  and 
in  the  amount  of  its  Grand  List  first  of  all  the  towns 
and  cities  in  the  State. 

"We  do  not  believe  that  division  will  injure  their 
business  interests  or  the  growth  of  Rutland  village. 
It  will  not  change  the  law  of  trade  which  seeks  the  best 
market  regardless  of  town  lines. 

"The  remonstrants  have  not,  either  in  testimony, 
suggestions  of  Counsel,  or  in  'points,'  suggested  any 
specific  injury  that  can  occur  to  Rutland  by  the  division; 
and  as  a  matter  of  right  and  justice,  aside  from  any 
material  question.  Proctor  and  West  Rutland  should 
not  be  kept  in  subserviency  to  a  larger  town  with  which 
they  have  no  social  affiliation,  whose  municipal  interests 
are  antagonistic,  and  from  which  they  are  separated  by 
natural  boundaries." 

In  1888  the  new  town  sent  its  first  representative 
to  the  legislature  in  the  person  of  Redfield  Proctor,  its 
friend  and  benefactor.  Mr.  Proctor  was  no  stranger 
at  the  capitol.  He  had  already  served  as  representative 
from  Rutland  in  1867-68,  as  senator  from  Rutland 
county  in  1874,  as  Lieutenant-Governor  in  1876  and 
as  Governor  in  1878.  Consequently,  his  experience 
as  well  as  his  service,  made  him  the  logical  choice  of 
his  townsmen  as  their  introductory  spokesman  in 
Montpelier. 


164  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

From  that  time  on,  Mr.  Proctor  was  largely  identi- 
fied with  the  political  life  of  the  State  and  Nation. 
In  1888  he  was  chairman  of  the  Vermont  delegation  at 
the  Republican  National  Convention  in  Chicago  and 
as  an  outcome  of  that  gathering  he  was  made  Secretary 
of  War  in  President  Harrison's  Cabinet.  In  1891  came 
his  appointment  as  United  States  Senator,  to  fill  the 
vacancy  brought  about  through  the  resignation  of 
George  F.  Edmonds.  To  this  office  he  was  repeatedly 
elected  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 

The  careers  of  Senator  Proctor  and  of  his  son 
Fletcher  D.  Proctor,  who  was  governor  of  the  State 
from  1906  to  1908,  brought  to  their  home  town  some- 
thing that  could  never  have  come  through  the  mar- 
keting of  marble.  They  brought  a  respect  for  the  in- 
tegrity and  straightforwardness  of  the  community. 
They  proclaimed  to  the  state  and  nation  that  Proctor 
was  justified  in  asking  for  independence,  that  as  an 
individual  unit  the  little  town  was  living  up  to  all 
that  had  been  promised  or  predicted. 

In  reality,  it  has  been  more  than  the  fulfillment  of 
any  prophecy.  Looking  ahead  from  1886,  no  one  could 
have  been  sufficiently  optimistic  to  visualize  the  Proctor 
of  today.  Any  tentative  estimate  must  have  fallen 
below  what  has  actually  been  accomplished.  So  it  is 
hardly  enough  to  say  that  the  little  commonwealth 
has  made  good  her  claims.  The  process  of  "making 
good"  is  still  going  on  and  the  end  is  not  yet  in  sight. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  LIBRARY 

FIRST  SCHOOL  IN  MARBLE  YARD SOUTHMAYd's  SCHOOL 

STONE  SCHOOL  HOUSE  OF  I  866 LATER  ADDITIONS — ■ 

BIRTH   OF  THE    LIBRARY UNDER  THE    STORE 

ROOF OLD    LIBRARY    BUILDING OPENING 

OF    NEW    LIBRARY ORMSBEE    SKETCH 

NO  one  now  living  seems  to  have  any  definite 
record  of  the  first  school  at  Sutherland  Falls. 
The  most  that  can  be  said  is  that  the  earliest 
known  seat  of  learning  was  on  low  ground  between  the 
river  and  the  elevation  which  is  now  occupied  by  the 
monumental  shop.  This  building,  whatever  it  may 
have  been  called,  was  available  for  educational  and 
other  public  uses  until  1836. 

It  is  claimed  also  that  Sutherland  Falls  had  its 
share  of  the  so-called  "select"  schools  which  were  pre- 
valent in  those  days — schools  which  were  organized  in 
private  houses  and  which  no  doubt  often  belied  the 
dignity  of  the  name.  One  such  distributor  of  knowledge 
was  started  in  the  old  Warner  house  where  Peter  Mor- 
ganson  now  lives.  Another  had  its  beginning  in  the 
Sutherland  place. 

In  1836,  when  the  optimistic  marble  operators 
began  to  cry  for  more  room,  William  Humphrey  essayed 
the  role  of  fairy  godfather  to  the  children  of  the  village 
and  built  for  them  a  new  house  of  learning,  a  structure 
which  has  since  been  honored  with  the  titles  of  Old 
l^ibrary  Building  and  Municipal  Memorial. 

165 


166  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

In  those  days  the  town  Hne  between  Rutland  and 
Pittsford  ran  a  little  north  of  the  section  now  occupied 
by  Haley's  Mill.  Although  nearly  all  the  buildings  were 
on  the  Rutland  side  of  the  line,  the  settlement  had 
always  been  treated  as  a  part  of  the  Pittsford  school 
district.  But  in  1836  it  was  made  into  a  separate  school 
district  of  the  town  of  Rutland,  and  the  stone  school 
house  was  started  with  the  understanding  that  it  was 
to  be  financed  by  the  subscription  of  the  residents. 
The  plan  however  failed  to  raise  the  requisite  capital 
and,  in  the  extremity,  Mr.  Humphrey  furnished  the 
two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  which  were  needed  to 
finish  the  work.  The  completed  structure  was  therefore 
deeded  to  him,  and  the  title  remained  in  the  Humphrey 
family  throughout  all  the  years  of  its  school  life.  For 
thirty  years  this  was  not  only  a  school  house  but 
the  school  house,  the  only  place  of  its  kind  in  the 
neighborhood. 

The  first  teacher  to  preside  under  this  new  roof  was 
Jonathan  C.  Southmayd,  a  man  whose  ambition 
was  much  too  broad  for  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  He 
was  a  graduate  of  Middlebury  College  and  of  Andover 
Theological  Seminary.  He  was  engaged  at  different 
times  as  a  tutor  in  Middlebury  and  as  a  teacher  in 
Montpelier  Academy.  To  the  people  of  Sutherland 
Falls  there  was  naught  in  his  coming  except  the  arrival 
of  another  teacher.  They  had  no  understanding  of  the 
dreams  he  brought  with  him  of  something  larger  and 
better  than  had  ever  been  contemplated. 

The  house  in  which  he  lived  was  close  beside  the 
brook  on  the  edge  of  the  marble  yards,  somewhat  east 
of  the  Vermont  Marble  Company's  storehouse.  From 
that  home  he  went  forth  on  week  days  to  train  the 
youngsters  in  the  ways  of  citizenship  and  on  Sundays 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  LIBRARY  167 

to  preach  to  young  and  old  in  that  same  diminutive 
school  room.  His  spare  time  was  given  to  private 
tutoring.  It  is  related  that  at  one  time  he  had  under 
his  care  and  instruction  no  less  than  six  delinquent 
college  students  from  Middlebury  and  Burlington  who 
were  looking  to  him  for  the  knowledge  they  had  failed 
to  absorb  in  the  class  rooms.  That  he  had  the  rare 
faculty  of  holding  and  teaching  such  men  was  attested 
long  ago  by  the  parents  and  friends  of  the  students 
and  in  later  years  by  the  boys  he  had  inspired. 

Thus  were  his  days  devoted  to  work  which  he  re- 
garded as  a  preparation  for  the  more  exacting  position 
he  was  to  fill.  Within  his  vision  he  could  see  growing 
up  there  in  the  valley,  under  his  direction,  a  school  of 
higher  learning.  In  the  course  of  time  he  secured  a 
strip  of  land  on  the  slope  of  Patch  Hill  and  there  he 
proposed  to  rear  a  large  academy.  But  his  plan  had 
few  supporters.  Alone  and  unaided,  he  began  digging 
and  blasting  on  his  plot,  that  the  foundation  might  be 
ready  when  the  funds  were  available.  Through  the 
help  of  E.  L.  Ormsbee,  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Southmayd, 
he  collected  a  pile  of  marble  waste  out  of  which  the 
cellar  walls  were  to  rise.  Then  after  two  years  of  service 
there  at  the  Falls  his  health  began  to  slip  away,  and 
when  it  was  revealed  to  him  that  he  must  leave  the 
cherished  labor  of  his  life,  he  pointed  out  the  spot  there 
on  the  hillside  which  was  to  be  his  final  resting  place. 

For  nearly  a  hundred  years  his  grave  has  remained 
unmolested.  It  is  now  closed  in  by  four  marble  posts 
and  at  its  head  stands  a  lonely  marker  bearing  the 
initials  "J.  C.  S."  Many  houses  have  sprung  up  below 
it.  In  the  near  foreground  is  the  residence  of  C.  Ratti. 
But  in  the  distance  is  the  same  glorious  Otter  Creek 
Valley,    the    same    color   harmony   of   the   mountains 


GRAVE  OF  JONATHAN  C.   SOUTHMAYD,   FIRST   PUBLIC  SCHOOL  TEACHER 
IN  SUTHERLAND   FALLS 


"^e  € 


K..:    .J|lfijU|i 


VILLAGE    SQUARE    IN    1912 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  LIBRARY  169 

which  Southmayd  knew  and  loved.  Altogether  it 
seems  quite  appropriate  that  Jonathan  Southmayd 
should  sleep  where  the  mountains  can  watch  over  him, 
for  there  is  little  doubt  that  they  were  an  elemental 
part  of  his  life. 

Generous  space  has  been  awarded  to  the  sketch 
of  Southmayd's  activities  not  because  he  was  the  first 
or  the  most  efficient  of  the  teachers,  but  merely  be- 
cause his  story  is  so  typical  of  the  early  history  of  the 
community.  He  was  only  one  of  the  many  men  of 
that  period  who  were  attempting  to  do  something  for 
which  the  world  was  not  ready. 

Of  the  teachers  who  came  after  Jonathan  South- 
mayd, possibly  the  most  famous  was  Aldace  F.  Walker, 
another  graduate  of  Middlebury  College,  who  at  the 
time  of  his  death  was  president  of  the  Atchison,  To- 
peka  &  Santa  Fe  railway  system. 

Many  other  names  belong  on  the  honor  roll  of  that 
old  stone  school  house.  Emily  and  Julia  Humphrey 
(aunts  of  Albert  Humphrey),  Ellen  Warner  (sister  of 
Myron  Warner),  Lucian  Palmer,  Newall  Jenney,  Mrs. 
Hills  Taylor  and  Lucy  Powers  Cole,  the  wife  of  Alander 
Cole,  all  had  a  part  in  developing  the  raw  material  of 
the  pioneer  town. 

Mrs.  Cole  was  one  of  the  last  of  these  instructors; 
she  was  the  teacher  there  in  the  spring  of  1865.  So 
the  old  building  closed  its  doors  to  the  children  at 
about  the  time  the  nation  closed  its  war.  Among  her 
scholars  at  that  time  were  F.  R.  Patch,  H.  P.  Powers, 
B.  F.  Taylor  and  Christy  Moran.  They  were  lined  up 
around  the  room  in  long  rough  board  seats,  which  were 
made  double  so  that  all  of  the  sixty-eight  boys  and 
girls  could  be  packed  into  the  room. 

It  was   the  overcrowded  condition  of  the  school 


170  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

which  started  the  agitation  for  more  floor  space.  This 
led,  in  1866,  to  the  erection  of  another  stone  school 
house,  a  two-story  structure,  the  site  of  which  is  now 
covered  by  the  cooperative  store.  With  the  completion 
of  this  larger  project  the  village  gave  up  the  Humphrey 
school  although  the  sons  of  the  builder  had  already 
offered  to  turn  it  over  to  the  district  on  payment  of 
the  original  investment  of  $250.  Thereupon  it  was 
sold  to  Fayette  Vaughan,  one  of  the  marble  men  of 
that  period,  who  turned  it  into  a  tenement.  It  was 
occupied  during  the  twenty-five  years  following  1868 
by  some  of  the  superintendents  and  employees  of  the 
marble  works.  It  was  the  home  for  a  time  of  F.  R. 
Patch,  bringing  to  him  the  singular  experience  of  living 
as  a  man  in  the  rooms  where  he  went  to  school  as  a  boy. 
It  remained  in  the  residence  class  until  1888  when  it 
was  converted  into  a  public  library. 

It  took  about  two  years  to  get  the  second  school 
in  operation.  Masons  from  Rutland  laid  the  stones  and 
J.  L.  Patch  &  Son  had  charge  of  the  woodwork.  The 
keystone  over  the  front  entrance,  which  bore  the  in- 
scription "A.  D.  1866",  was  cut  by  B.  F.  Taylor.  The 
walls  literally  rose  out  of  a  swamp,  the  natural  level 
of  the  old  village  center  being  very  much  lower  than 
it  is  today.  The  marshy  character  of  the  ground  led 
some  of  the  voters  to  complain  that  it  was  unfit  as  a 
site  but  notwithstanding  their  opposition  the  work  was 
pushed  through  to  a  triumphal  finish.  The  stone  addi- 
tion of  1866  was  in  use  until  1903,  and  not  until  1914 
did  it  cease  to  be  a  part  of  the  village. 

While  these  two  schools  each  in  its  own  time  ruled 
alone  within  the  village,  there  was  another  district  at 
the  Double-Roads  Crossing  supported  by  the  homes  of 
that  neighborhood.  Here  again,  dates  are  hard  to  pro 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  LIBRARY  171 

duce  but  it  must  have  been  early  in  the  nineteenth 
century  when  the  first  building,  which  is  remembered  as 
a  structure  of  either  six  or  eight  sides,  raised  its  head 
in  the  valley. 

It  stood  on  the  south  side  of  the  road  west  of  the 
present  bridge.  It  was  reduced  to  kindling  wood  in 
1872. 

Then  arose  a  controversy  as  to  where  the  new 
one  should  stand.  The  men  of  the  district  were  unable 
to  agree  on  a  site.  For  a  year  or  more  there  was  no 
school  at  the  Double  Roads.  Then  the  women  took 
a  hand  in  the  fight  and  called  in  the  selectmen  of 
Rutland.  They  all  met  together  in  the  covered  bridge 
and  one  of  the  selectmen  made  a  short  but  impressive 
speech  which  was  worded  somewhat  as  follows: 

"You  have  got  to  have  a  schoolhouse  and  it  can't 
be  built  up  in  the  air.  You  will  have  to  locate  it  some- 
where on  the  ground." 

This  philosophy  apparently  was  not  without  its 
effect,  for  in  1875  a  new  school  was  established  on  the 
north  side  of  the  road  nearly  opposite  the  old  founda- 
tion. Thus  was  opened  another  chapter  of  school  his- 
tory in  District  No.  10.  At  the  end  of  thirty-five  years 
the  second  building  was  discarded  and  the  scholars 
were  transfered  to  the  village  of  Proctor. 

By  that  time  Proctor  had  entirely  outgrown  the 
old  stone  school-house  of  1866.  It  had  added  unto  itself 
the  North  School  which  went  up  in  the  summer  of  1883, 
the  Village  Hall  school,  a  product  of  1886,  and  the 
South  School,  which  was  reared  in  1903,  the  very  year 
in  which  the  stone  school  house  closed  its  doors  and 
passed  into  an  inactive  old  age.  This  expansion  of  the 
educational  life  of  the  village  was  but  a  reflection  of  the 
prosperity  of  the  marble  business  and  the  stable  growth 
of  the  community. 


TOWN   HALL   OR   VILLAGE   SCHOOL,   BUILT   IN    1886 


TOWN    HALL,    WITH    ADDITIONS    BUILT    IN    1897    AND    1909 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  LIBRARY  173 

With  the  dedication  of  the  Village  Hall  structure 
began  the  life  of  the  Proctor  High  School,  In  1892  it 
presented  diplomas  to  its  first  graduating  class,  and 
year  by  year  the  classes  have  increased,  both  in  num- 
bers and  efficiency,  an  efficiency  born  of  higher  stan- 
dards and  better  equipment. 

Looking  back  over  the  old  reports,  one  gets  the 
impression  that  ever  since  the  days  of  1836  the  school 
directors  have  been  asking  for  more  room.  Yet  there 
has  always  been  reason  in  their  asking.  They  remodeled 
the  central  building  in  1897,  and  again  in  1909,  when 
the  new  Village  Hall  was  built.  They  added  the  Patch 
Hill  school  in  1914.  And  still  there  was  insufficient 
space  at  command. 

The  last  move  was  made  in  1919,  when  the  new 
High  School  was  conjured  up  from  the  rocks  and  given 
the  place  of  honor  on  the  hill.  All  this  needs  no  explana- 
tion or  description.  Everyone  knows  what  is  comprised 
within  those  stately  brick  walls  and  what  it  all  repre- 
sents. The  cost  of  the  undertaking  was  about  $60,000, 
but  why  speak  of  it  as  though  it  had  a  cash  equivalent. 
A  better  way  is  to  look  only  at  its  wonderful  capacity 
for  service.  Then  it  can  be  seen  as  it  really  is — a  great 
asset  for  the  present,  a  priceless  heritage  for  the  future. 

Not  alone  in  itself  is  the  new  High  School  well 
appointed  for  the  great  task  to  which  it  is  dedicated. 
The  entire  cap  of  the  hill  has  been  transformed  into  a 
modern  playground,  so  that  it  stands  in  its  complete- 
ness far  above  the  level  of  the  ordinary  country  town. 
The  work  of  grading  and  equipping  the  grounds  was  a 
private  contribution  to  the  Proctor  school  system,  the 
gift  of  Miss  Emily  D.  Proctor, 

Cavendish  House  and  Ormsbee  House  are  two 
other  comparatively  new  institutions  which  have  been 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  LIBRARY  175 

established  and  maintained  by  Miss  Emily  D.  Proctor 
and  Mr.  Redfield  Proctor.  They  are  being  set  aside 
for  another  page.  Each  must  be  regarded  as  an  edu- 
cational unit  of  commanding  interest,  yet,  with  their 
manifold  activities,  they  seem  to  insist  on  another  kind 
of  setting.  Consider  them  as  dismissed  for  the  present, 
therefore,  while  the  story  trails  back  to  the  first  days 
of  one  of  the  school's  best  allies — the  library. 


The  old  Monumental  Shop  Library  was  inaugur- 
ated in  1 88 1,  with  few  books  on  its  shelves  and  little 
money  in  reserve.  Those  few  volumes,  a  number  that 
was  all  too  small  for  the  growing  list  of  readers,  were 
kept  on  the  jump  from  house  to  house,  and  with  each 
visit  the  appetite  for  more  grew  harder  to  subdue.  It 
was  this  craving  which  led  in  short  order  to  a  definite 
organization  for  the  uplift  of  the  reading  idea. 

In  the  first  record  book  of  the  club  is  this  preface: 
"We,  the  subscribers,  associate  ourselves  together  under 
the  name  of  the  Proctor  Library  Association,  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  and  maintaining  a  library 
within  the  town  of  Rutland,  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  Chapter  1604  of  the  Revised  Laws  of 
Vermont." 

This  was  signed  by  B.  F.  Taylor,  E.  J.  Sayre,  Fred 
L.  Patch,  W.  W.  Wilkins,  J.  P.  Humphrey,  S.  W.  Mead 
and  John  Matthews. 

Mr.  Taylor  was  the  first  president,  and,  of  the 
original  seven  members,  he  is  the  only  one  now  living 
in  Proctor.  Two  have  died,  two  have  moved  to  Rut- 
land, one  is  in  Washington,  D.  C.  and  one  in  California. 

An  annual  assessment  of  one  dollar  was  all  that 
kept  the  infant  book-exchange  from  being  a  free  library. 


176  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

Anyone  who  met  that  obligation  was  entitled  to  take 
out  books.  Those  few  lonely  dollars,  added  to  a  small 
number  of  voluntary  contributions,  were  expected  to 
keep  up  the  shelves  and  make  them  interesting. 

Through  the  help  of  Senator  Proctor,  however, 
the  library  managed  to  elude  the  perils  of  babyhood 
and  grow  into  a  fairly  normal  youth.  It  was  his  cus- 
tom to  double  whatever  amounts  the  association  might 
raise  for  the  purchase  of  books,  and  on  many  other  oc- 
casions it  was  largely  through  his  efforts  that  the 
wolf  was  driven  away  from  the  door  of  the  treasury. 

After  a  few  years  it  was  thought  best  to  take  the 
books  out  of  their  monumental  setting  and  give  them 
a  home  that  was  more  quiet  and  congenial.  They  were 
transferred  to  the  upper  floor  of  the  Company's  store,, 
where  the  rumble  of  machinery  was  rather  less  obtru- 
sive and  where  the  villagers  could  find  their  way  in 
without  dodging  the  marble  blocks.  There  the  library 
gathered  unto  itself  an  additional  stock  of  books  and 
prestige  and  overran  entirely  the  partitions  which  were 
supposed  to  hold  it  in  check. 

In  1891  the  Company  called  out  the  masons,  car- 
penters and  painters,  and  told  them  to  make  a  library 
out  of  the  stone  schoolhouse  of  thirty-six.  That  was 
the  year  when  the  marble  approach  was  set  in  place 
and  the  inside  partitions  gave  way  to  shelves  and  al- 
coves. It  was  most  natural  that  the  books  should  be- 
come attached  to  those  walls  wherein  Southmayd 
had  taught  and  the  call  had  come  to  the  patriots  of 
sixty-one.  There  they  remained  for  more  than  twenty 
years.  There  they  would  doubtless  be  today  had  it  not 
been  for  the  kindly  foresight  of  Mrs.  Emily  J.  Proctor. 
For  the  brick  edifice  across  the  river  is  her  gift,  a  helpful 
offering  to  the  booklovers  of  all  ages. 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  LIBRARY  177 

In  May,  1913,  when  the  books  made  their  final  pil- 
grimage, the  old  library  building  was  left  once  more 
in  a  state  of  inactivity.  Nor  did  there  seem  to  be  any 
insistent  demand  for  the  kind  of  service  in  which  it 
had  spent  its  days.  For  a  time  it  simply  clung  to  the 
corner  of  the  square,  an  empty  shell  without  plan 
or  purpose.  Then,  in  the  days  following  the  Great 
War,  it  came  into  its  own  again  in  a  large  and  glorious 
way.  It  was  bought  from  the  Company  by  Mr.  Red- 
field  Proctor,  given  complete  restoration  and  an  artis- 
tically finished  interior,  and  presented  to  the  village  as 
a  Municipal  Memorial  and  a  home  for  the  Americar^ 
Legion. 

Speaking  at  its  dedication.  May  29,  1920,  Mr.. 
F.  C.  Partridge  made  this  reference  to  its  historic 
significance: 

"This  building  combines  in  happy  measure  many 
things  desirable  in  a  memorial.  It  is  practical  and  use- 
ful. The  village  and  town  will  henceforth  have  one  of 
the  most  attractive  and  practical  buildings  for  official 
uses  of  any  town  in  the  state.  Locally  it  perpetuates 
the  memory  of  the  simple  beginnings  of  the  town,  its 
early  striving  after  education,  the  pioneer  days  of  the 
library,  and  the  commencement  of  the  marble  industry. 
Beyond  and  above  these  purely  local  things,  it  is  in- 
tended to  preserve  the  memory  of  the  loyalty  and  de- 
votion of  those  who  from  our  town  went  into  military 
and  naval  service  during  the  Great  War.  In  the  main,, 
or  memorial,  room  there  is  to  be  a  tablet  with  the  names 
inscribed  thereon  of  those  heroes,  and  in  his  deed  of 
gift  to  the  village,  Mr.  Proctor  has  provided  that  the 
local  chapter  of  the  American  Legion  may  keep  its 
records  in  the  building  and  may  use  the  memorial  room 
for  its  meetings  and  gatherings." 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  LIBRARY  179 

Returning  again  to  the  new  library,  it  would  be  a 
waste  of  space  to  tell  what  it  is  and  how  it  looks.  Nine 
years  have  slipped  away  since  the  day  of  its  opening, 
and  they  have  given  everyone  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  spacious,  restful  rooms.  The  library  has  al- 
ready become  a  loyal  and  obliging  friend — giving  freely 
of  its  inspiration  to  anyone  who  will  take  the  trouble  to 
enter.  And  of  those  who  come  and  go  the  more  thought- 
ful will  never  fail  to  pause  in  reverent  respect  before  the 
bronze  panel  which  adorns  the  entrance — an  unob- 
trusive reminder  that  the  building  is  erected  in  memory 
of  Arabella  Proctor  Holden. 

If  the  library  could  grow  in  the  old  days,  under  the 
handicap  of  ungainly  surroundings,  it  could  hardly  do 
less  in  its  present  environment.  And  the  records  show 
that  it  has  taken  full  advantage  of  its  larger  oppor- 
tunity. In  1913  it  had  on  its  shelves  8,113  volumes, 
and  the  circulation  for  that  year  was  13,953.  ^t  the 
end  of  1 92 1  the  stock  of  books  had  increased  to  12,387, 
and  the  circulation  was  31,563.  This  represents  not 
alone  a  gain  in  index  cards,  but,  what  is  vastly  more 
encouraging,  a  much  wider  following  of  the  reading 
habit. 

The  library  is  supported  by  private  endowments 
and  contributions,  by  appropriation  from  the  town  of 
Proctor,  and  by  the  proceeds  of  entertainments  given 
for  its  benefit.  It  is  managed  by  a  board  of  directors,  in 
cooperation  with  Miss  Mary  K.  Norton,  the  librarian. 
Miss  Norton  began  her  years  of  service  in  the  old  stone 
building,  and  it  has  been  under  her  supervision  that  the 
institution  has  made  its  greatest  advance.  Preceding 
her  in  office  were  Elizabeth  A.  Creer,  Nellie  M.  Glasson, 
James  T.  Glasson,  Charles  W.  Glasson,  and  W.  W. 
Wilkins,  all  of  whom  gave  unsparingly  of  their  time 
to  the  cause. 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  LIBRARY  181 

Although  few  may  know  of  it,  the  land  on  which 
the  library  stands  was  dedicated  many  years  ago  to 
the  patrons  of  literature.  The  old  Ormsbee  house, 
which  once  sat  there  under  the  elms,  was  a  home  where 
books  were  known  and  cherished,  and  where  others  of 
kindred  tastes  were  ever  welcome. 

That  undoubtedly  is  the  greater  reason  why  a 
commemorative  boulder  was  implanted  in  the  library 
lawn.  Although  the  first  words  on  the  tablet  are  a 
recognition  of  John  Sutherland  as  the  first  settler  at 
the  Falls,  they  are  overshadowed  by  that  part  of  the 
inscription  which  tells  how  Mr.  and  Mrs.  T.  J.  Ormsbee, 
who  once  lived  there,  were  "active  in  good  works." 

It  is  through  a  kindly  twist  of  fortune,  therefore, 
that  the  last  lines  of  this  chapter  have  been  written  by 
Mr.  Hamilton  Ormsbee,  of  the  Brooklyn  Eagle,  a  son 
of  the  old  Ormsbee  house.  No  one  can  travel  back 
with  Mr.  Ormsbee  to  that  simple  cottage  without  get- 
ting a  more  respectful  conception  of  the  library  and 
its  mission. 

"The  library  building,"  he  writes, "occupies  the  site 
of  the  house  where  I  was  born  and  made  my  home  until 
1875.  It  was  originally  owned  by  a  farmer  named  Pen- 
nock,  came  into  the  possession  of  my  father,  Thomas  J. 
Ormsbee  in  1843,  and  was  his  home  continuously  until 
after  the  death  of  my  mother  in  1890.  (The  barn  on  the 
Pennock  farm,  by-the-way,  which  stood  a  few  rods 
northeast  of  the  present  Fletcher  Proctor  house,  was 
the  scene  of  the  first  religious  meetings  held  at  Suther- 
land Falls,  sometime  before  the  building  of  the  stone 
school  house.) 

"My  father  was  a  lawyer,  had  practiced  and  been 
postmaster  in  Rutland,  and  had  gone  West  to  make 
a  home  for  his  family,  when  he  was  summoned  back 


\       H 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  LIBRARY  188 

by  his  brother,  Edgar  L.  Ormsbee,  also  a  lawyer  with 
a  taste  for  geology  who  had  become  interested  in  the 
marble  vein  in  the  valley.  Edgar  had  secured  an  inter- 
est in  the  marble  quarry  and  the  little  first  mill  at 
Sutherland  Falls,  and  wanted  his  brother  Thomas  to 
take  charge  of  it.  My  father  took  the  Pennock  house 
and  brought  his  wife  there.  Four  children  were  born 
to  them  there,  of  whom  the  two  who  lived  to  maturity 
were  Harriett,  the  late  Mrs.  Joseph  L.  Patch,  and 
myself. 

"There  is  still  one  living  link  between  the  new 
building  and  the  old.  My  father  early  in  his  occupancy 
trimmed  up  and  staked  an  elm  sapling  near  his  house 
which  had  been  trampled  down  by  cattle.  That  elm 
he  often  pointed  out  to  me  and  it  is  the  one  which  now 
stands  in  front  of  the  library  entrance.  The  incident 
dates  the  growth  of  the  tree  from  about  1840. 

"My  own  memories  began  about  i860,  but  they 
include  many  scenes  which  show  the  peculiar  fitness  of 
the  site  to  become  a  public  library.  My  mother  was  a 
great  reader.  Her  knowledge  of  the  English  classics, 
indeed,  would  put  to  shame  most  of  us  today,  and  the 
books  she  and  my  father  had  were  lent  freely  to  any 
of  the  neighbors  who  cared  to  read  them.  Wh^n  I  was 
eight  or  ten  years  old  she  began  reading  aloud  the 
novels  of  Scott  in  the  long  winter  evenings,  a  practice 
which  continued  for  three  or  four  years.  One  evening, 
Mr.  Smith  Warner,  our  nearest  neighbor  to  the  south, 
came  in  with  one  of  his  boys  in  the  middle  of  an  ex- 
citing scene.  We  begged  mother  to  read  on  until  she 
got  the  characters  out  of  their  dilemma.  With  the 
permission  of  her  guests  she  did  so  and  they  became  as 
much  interested  in  the  story  as  we  were.  Thereafter 
the  listeners  for  our  evening  readings  were  enlarged  by 


184  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

two  or  three.  All  I  ever  knew  of  Scott  I  got  In  that 
old  house  by  listening  and  then  re-reading  the  tales  I 
liked  best.  Father  always  swore  by  'The  Antiquary' 
but  mother's  favorite  was  'The  Heart  of  Midlothian.' 
I  guess  mine  was  'Guy  Mannering.'  I  know  that 
mother  once  heard  me  crying  in  a  violent  nightmare 
and  found  me  going  over  in  my  sleep  the  scene  where 
Meg  Merrilies  lights  the  flax  in  the  smuggler's  cave. 
I  have  often  heard  mother  reproach  herself  for  reading 
that  passage  to  an  imaginative  boy  before  his  bedtime. 

"At  fourteen  I  went  to  Rutland  to  attend  the 
high  school  and  only  came  home  for  Saturdays  and 
Sundays.  In  my  first  or  second  winter  I  came  home 
with  some  childish  ailment  which  kept  me  in  bed  but 
didn't  make  me  feel  very  ill.  The  first  morning  of  that 
comfortable  condition,  mother  appeared  in  my  room 
bearing  a  big  red  volume,  and  announced:  'Now, 
young  man,  you  are  going  to  know  some  Shakespeare. 
I  am  not  going  to  have  a  big  boy  like  you  going  around 
an  ignoramus.' 

"She  began  with  'The  Comedy  of  Errors'  and  I 
laughed  till  I  cried  over  the  two  Dromios.  Then  followed 
the  comic  scenes  from  'The  Tempest,'  the  FalstaflF 
scenes  from  'Henry  IV,'  and  much  of  the  raillery  of 
Beatrice  and  Benedick;  all  things  which  a  boy  could 
enjoy.  For  years  I  chose  plays  for  my  own  reading 
from  which  I  had  heard  scenes  read  aloud,  or  later, 
those  which  I  had  seen  acted.  I  have  heard  famous 
people  read  from  'Henry  VIIF  but  I  have  never 
heard  any  one  put  more  tenderness  and  pathos  into 
Queen  Katherine  than  did  my  mother,  reading  by  the 
light  of  a  little  lamp  in  that  old  dining  room. 

"My  mother,  however,  was  not  the  only  reader 
in  the  family.  My  father  liked  heroic  and  romantic 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  LIBRARY 


185 


WINTER   SCENE  FROM   FLETCHER  D,   PROCTOR'S   RESIDENCE 


poetry,  Scott,  Byron  and  Campbell.  I  remember  one 
night  when  mother  was  away  and  he  let  me  sit  up  late 
while  he  read  the  whole  of  'Gertrude  of  Wyoming' 
to  me. 

"My  father's  passion  for  thoroughness  in  his  read- 
ing met  a  hard  test  later,  when  my  mother  lost  her 
sight  for  a  number  of  years  and  he  became  her  eyes. 
I  came  home  one  Saturday  and  found  him  reading 
a  serial  instalment  of  'Daniel  Deronda'  to  her.  I 
knew  he  did  not  like  George  Eliot,  but  mother  loved 
her.  He  read  her  all  of  that  novel  as  it  came  out  in 
Harper's,  and  everything  else,  from  the  newspaper  to 
the  Bible,  including  the  Episcopal  Church  service  on 
Sunday  mornings.  His  occasional  enthusiasm  for  Bible 
reading  shocked  his  wife.  She  had  been  brought  up  to 
read  her  Bible  a  chapter  each  day,  but  when  father 


186  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

read  it  aloud  to  her  he  read  till  he  grew  tired.  One 
Sunday  night  he  read  aloud  the  whole  Book  of  Job, 
with  comments  of  interest  or  sympathy  which  would 
have  been  appropriate  to  a  novel  of  Scott. 

"An  early  case  of  his  absorption  in  secular  reading 
was  a  sore,  if  brief,  trial  to  his  wife.  He  came  home 
from  a  business  trip  one  Saturday  and  said:  'Mother, 
I've  brought  you  a  new  book'.  It  was  'Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin,'  and,  as  mother  used  to  tell  the  story,  she 
looked  forward  to  a  delightful  long  evening,  once  she 
had  put  her  supper  things  away  and  seen  her  children 
safely  in  bed.  When  that  time  came,  however,  she 
found  father  deep  in  the  story  and  in  no  mood  to  lay 
it  down.  Mother  waited  for  him  to  grow  tired,  but 
finally  gave  up  and  went  to  bed.  Father  kept  right  on 
until  the  last  page  of  the  story  was  finished,  somewhere 
before  daylight   in   the  morning. 

"Can  any  one  imagine  a  more  appropriate  place 
for  a  public  library  than  on  the  site  of  a  home  saturated 
with  the  love  of  reading  as  was  that  one?  I  can  believe 
that  gracious  founder  of  the  Proctor  Library  could 
have  no  better  wish  for  its  usefulness  than  that  the 
spirit  of  the  home  which  it  has  replaced  should  become 
incorporated  in  the  new  and  handsome  building,  in- 
spiring those  who  seek  to  make  it  helpful  and  blessing 
those  who  take  advantage  of  its  opportunities." 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  STORY  OF  THE  CHURCHES 

EARLY  SERVICES  IN   PENNOCK  BARN LEMUEL  HAYNES 

THE    CHAPEL THE    UNION    CHURCH    AND    PARISH 

HOUSE ST.      DOMINIC'S      CHURCH GREEK 

CATHOLIC SWEDISH      LUTHERAN 

SWEDISH    CONGREGATIONAL 

IN  Mr.  Ormsbee's  sketch  there  is  a  reference  to  the 
religious  services  which  had  their  beginning  in  the 
Pennock  barn.  One  of  the  worshippers  at  that 
early  shrine  was  J.  C.  Powers,  the  father  of  Harry 
Powers,  and  it  is  a  tradition  of  the  family  that  the  first 
of  those  meetings  must  have  taken  place  prior  to  1830. 
Nor  were  they  limited  to  sessions  of  preaching;  the 
Sunday  School  also  began  under  that  roof.  An  old 
circular  marks  the  year  as  1821. 

The  firs"t  minister  to  interest  himself  in  the  Suther- 
land Falls  community  was  the  Rev.  Lemuel  Haynes, 
a  colored  preacher,  whose  life  was  strangely  inter- 
woven with  the  church  history  of  the  Vermont  pioneers. 
Chauncey  K.  Williams,  in  his  address  at  the  Rutland 
Centennial  Celebration  of  1870,  has  this  to  say  of  the 
man  from  the  South,  whose  lot  it  was  to  spend  his 
days  in  the  northern  wilderness: 

"Rev.  Lemuel  Haynes,  in  his  day  and  generation, 
was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  Vermont. 
Fifty  years  hence,  it  may  be,  and  probably  will  be, 
difficult  to  apprehend  the  difficult  position  in  which  not 

187 


188  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

only  he,  but  also  the  people  of  that  parish  were  placed 
in  employing  such  a  clergymen  to  minister  unto  them. 
Mr.  Haynes  was  a  partially  colored  man,  his  father 
being  of  unmingled  African  extraction,  and  his  mother 
a  white  woman  of  respectable  parentage.  His  name 
was  neither  that  of  his  father  or  mother,  but  (probably) 
that  of  the  family  under  whose  roof  he  received  his 
birth.  He  was  born  at  West  Hartford,  Conn.,  July  i8, 
1753.  When  he  was  five  months  old  he  was  carried  to 
Granville,  Mass.,  and  bound  out  as  a  servant  until  he 
was  21.  During  a  revival  he  became  a  professor  of 
religion,  and  being  persuaded  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
become  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  he  commenced  the 
study  of  the  ministry  with  Rev.  Daniel  Farrand  of 
Canaan,  Conn.,  and  on  the  29th  of  November,  1780, 
he  was  licensed  to  preach.  On  the  9th  of  November, 
1785,  he  was  ordained  to  preach  at  Torrington,  Conn., 
the  Rev.  Daniel  Farrand  preaching  the  sermon.  After 
remaining  in  Torrington  a  short  time  he  took  a  mis- 
sionary tour  through  Vermont,  at  the  request  of  the 
Connecticut  Missionary  Society.  The  result  of  this 
trip  was  that  he  was  invited  to  settle  in  West  Rutland, 
where  he  remained  till  May,  181 8,  when  he  was  dis- 
missed. From  here,  Mr.  Haynes  went  to  Manchester, 
where  he  remained  three  years,  and  in  February,  1822, 
removed  to  Granville,  N.  Y.,  where  he  passed  the 
last  eleven  years  of  his  life,  dying  there  on  the  28th  of 
September,  1833." 

In  observance  of  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of 
the  Union  Church  of  Proctor,  an  event  of  the  year 
191 5,  Rev.  F.  W.  Raymond,  who  was  the  pastor  at 
that  time,  issued  in  pamphlet  form  a  short  historical 
sketch  which  reaches  back  over  the  first  epoch  of  de- 
velopment. This  sets  forth  with  great  clarity  the  various 


CHURCHES,  OLD  AND  NEW  181> 

happenings  of  the  years,  illuminating  the  path  from 
the  Pennock  barn  to  the  marble  structure  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river.  It  needs  only  a  bit  of  pruning  here 
and  there  and  a  few  lines  pertaining  to  later  incidents 
to  adjust  it  to  the  pages  of  this  book. 

It  begins  with  the  Pennock  meeting  place  and 
designates  Mr.  Haynes  as  "one  of  the  men  sent  out 
shortly  after  the  Revolution  by  the  Connecticut  Gen- 
eral Association  of  Congregational  Churches  as  mis- 
sionaries into  'ye  settlements  now  forming  in  the 
wilderness  to  the  westward  and  northwestward,'  namely 
New  York  and  Vermont. 

"Later"  it  continues,  "a  small  school  house,  sit- 
uated near  the  Sutherland  Falls,  was  used  for  many 
years  for  religious  purposes.  The  Humphrey  school 
house  (Old  Library  Building)  was  built  in  1837  ^"d. 
there,  among  others.  Rev.  Jonathan  C.  Southmayd,. 
a  graduate  of  Middlebury  College  and  x'\ndover  Semi- 
nary, taught,  and  on  Sundays  conducted  religious  ser- 
vices. Congregational  ministers  from  Rutland,  West 
Rutland  and  Pittsford  also  preached  there  from  time 
to  time.  After  the  erection  of  the  old  stone  school 
house  (1866-8)  services  were  held  more  regularly,  the 
community  having  at  that  time  about  300  inhabitants. 
This  building  (recently  torn  down)  was  located  on  the 
site  now  occupied  by  the  Vermont  Marble  Co.'s  store."" 

Once,  while  services  were  being  held  in  that  old 
school  house  of  1866,  the  entire  congregation  was 
drawn  outside  by  cries  from  the  hill  a  few  rods  to  the 
eastward.  The  Hewitt  boy  had  fallen  out  of  an  apple 
tree  and  broken  his  leg.  There  was  no  doctor  in  the 
village  in  those  days,  so  a  messenger  was  sent  out  post- 
haste to  the  adjoining  town.  By  the  time  the  man  was 
back.  Senator  Proctor  had  the  injured  bones  in  place 


190 


THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 


THE  SCHOOL  HOUSE  OF  1866,  WHICH  SER\  ED  ALSO  AS  A  HOUSE  OF 

WORSHIP 

and  there  was  nothing  for  the  doctor  to  do.  All  this 
may  be  aside  from  the  subject  of  churches,  never-the- 
less,  as  a  preachment  on  the  versatility  of  the  town's 
founder,  it  is  a  pardonable  intrusion. 

"Ministers  from  the  denominations  represented 
in  the  neighboring  towns  served  the  community.  Cot- 
tage prayer  meetings  were  held  from  house  to  house. 
As  the  settlement  grew,  it  was  felt  there  should  be  a 
building  erected  for  church  purposes,  and  in  1880  a 
chapel  was  built  by  an  association  formed  under  the 
laws  of  Vermont,  on  land  now  owned  by  the  Union 
Church.  In  early  meetings,  there  was  much  discussion 
over  the  name  of  the  Association,  'Sutherland  Falls 
Chapel  Association,'  'Sutherland  Falls  Ecclesiastical 
Association'  and  'Sutherland  Falls  Union  Association,' 
being  all  finally  rejected  and  giving  way  to  'The  Union 


CHURCHES,  OLD  AND  NEW  191 

Chapel  Society.'  In  the  chapel,  ministers  of  different 
denominations  and  from  different  communities  con- 
ducted services.  Sessions  of  the  Sunday  School  were 
held  there  during  the  summer  months,  until  April  8, 
1883,  when  the  Sutherland  Falls  Sunday  School  was 
organized.  From  about  1884,  the  building  was  used 
also  by  the  Swedish  Lutheran  and  the  Swedish  Evangel- 
ical (Congregational)  societies. 

"On  March  3,  1889,  the  chapel  was  destroyed  by 
fire.  Plans  for  continuing  the  work  were  discussed  and 
on  June  3,  1889,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Village  Hall 
to  consider  (i)  rebuilding  the  chapel,  (2)  organizing 
a  Union  Church.  On  June  1 1,  1889,  a  committee  which 
had  been  appointed  to  look  into  the  matter  reported. 
The  Union  Church  ^Society  was  formed  and  a  board  of 
stewards  elected  to  see  about  plans  for  a  church  build- 
ing and  funds  for  its  erection.  September  11,  1889, 
plans  for  a  building  were  submitted  and  it  was  voted 
to  begin  work.  In  April,  1890,  Rev.  L.  A.  Bigelow,  of 
the  Troy  M.  E.  Conference,  was  secured  as  pastor. 
On  June  11,  1890,  one  year  after  the  Society  was 
formed,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Village  Hall  to  con- 
sider forming  a  church,  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  draft  a  manual  and  to  consult  with  such  persons  as 
might  desire  to  unite.  On  June  18,  the  committee  re- 
ported, and  a  clerk,  a  treasurer  and  four  deacons  were 
elected.  On  July  6,  1890,  the  members  were  formally 
received  into  the  church  at  the  first  communion  ser- 
vice— 42  by  letter,  13  on  confession  of  faith,  a  total  of 

"On  May  11,  1890,  the  corner  stone  of  the  church 
building  was  laid  by  Rev.  L.  A.  Bigelow  and  visiting 
clergymen,  the  address  being  given  by  Rev.  C.  C. 
Mclntire    of   Pittsford.  On    December   31,    1890,    the 


192  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

first  service,  a  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.  prayer  meeting,  was  held 
in  the  church.  On  September  27,  1891,  the  building 
was  dedicated.  A  sermon  was  preached  at  the  morning 
service  by  Rev.  W.  W.  Foster,  Jr.,  and  another  at  the 
afternoon  service  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Bixler,  of  New  London,. 
Conn.  Such  were  the  beginnings  of  the  Union  Church. 

"In  1899,  Mrs.  Redfield  Proctor  gave  to  the  church 
the  present  comfortable  and  commodious  parsonage 
and  the  ground  on  which  it  stands. 

"The  growth  of  the  parish  and  the  growing  needs 
for  social  and  Sunday  School  work  made  a  parish  house 
seem  almost  a  necessity.  Funds  began  to  be  gathered 
for  that  object;  the  clearing  of  the  debt  and  the  organi- 
zation of  a  Brotherhood  gave  further  impetus.  June 
9,  1910,  work  was  begun  on  the  present  parish  house  and 
on  January  24-25,  191 1,  it  was  dedicated.  It  has  indeed 
met  a  real  need. 

"In  the  25  years  of  its  history  the  church  has  had 
but  four  pastors;  Rev.  Loyal  A.  Bigelow  and  Rev. 
Howard  J.  Banker  coming  from  the  Troy  M.  E.  Con- 
ference; Rev.  George  W.  C.  Hill,  from  the  First  Con- 
gregational Church,  New  Bedford,  Mass.;  and  Rev. 
Frederick  W.  Raymond,  from  the  Congregational 
Church,  Hamilton,  N.  Y. 

"The  growth  in  membership  has  been  steady  and 
continuous.  To  the  original  membership  of  ^^,  there 
have  been  added  147  on  confession  of  their  faith  and 
182  by  letter,  making  a  grand  total  of  384.  There  have 
been  removed  from  the  membership  by  death,  ^^;  by 
letter,  134;  and  by  dismission  and  revision  of  the  roll, 
8;  a  total  of  175;  leaving  a  present  membership  of  209. 
The  resident  membership  is  156.  Those  who  have  come 
into  membership  have  come  out  of  many  different 
denominational    trainings,    such    as    Baptist,    Episco- 


CHURCHES,  OLD  AND  NEW 


193 


THE  UNION  CHAPEL,  BUILT  IN  1880,  BURNED   IN   1889,   AND   REPLACED   IN 
1891    BY    THE    PRESENT    UNION    CHURCH 

palian,  Roman  Catholic,  Presbyterian,  Reformed  Pres- 
byterian, Dutch  Reformed,  Reformed  Church  of  Hun- 
gary, Congregational,  Disciple,  Universalist,  Methodist, 
Evangelical  and  others.  They  have  come,  too,  out  of 
many  lands.  There  have  been  baptized  in  the  parish 
some  207  adults  and  children. 

"This  statement  of  'Principles'  is  taken  from  the 
Manual: 

"This  church  shall  be  Congregational  in  its  form 
of  government  and  discipline  in  accordance  with  the 
legal  interest  of  the  society  with  which  it  is  connected. 


194  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

It  will  seek  the  relations  of  Christian  fellowship  with 
other  evangelical  churches,  by  the  mutual  transfer  of 
members,  by  ministerial  exchanges,  by  sacramental 
communion,  by  mutual  councils,  and  by  all  suitable 
modes  of  cooperation,  and  in  its  action  in  pursuance 
of  these  principles,  it  does  not  intend  to  merge  itself 
in  any  denominational  organization. 

"Before  there  was  a  Church  there  was  a  Sunday 
School.  Its  sessions  were  held  in  the  summer  months 
until  April  8,  1883,  when  the  Sutherland  Falls  Sunday 
School  was  organized.  After  the  building  of  the  church, 
the  Sunday  School  became  identified  with  it.  The  im- 
portance of  the  Sunday  School  has  always  been  recog- 
nized and  effort  has  been  made  to  keep  it  abreast  of 
the  times  in  methods  and  efficiency.  With  some  slight 
falling  off  in  the  middle  period,  there  has  been  an  al- 
most steady  growth  in  membership  and  attendance. 
Last  year  the  average  was  185.  The  past  few  years  the 
school  has  taken  a  vacation  for  one  or  two  summer 
months,  it  is  believed  with  wholesome  effect  on  both 
attendance  and  interest  during  the  rest  of  the  year. 
The  school  is  now  graded  somewhat  along  the  line  of 
the  public  schools,  and  the  International  Graded  Les- 
sons are  in  use  in  most  of  the  classes.  It  is  divided  into 
three  separate  departments,  meeting  on  Sunday  noon; 
the  adult  department  meeting  in  the  church,  the  inter- 
mediate department  on  the  main  floor  of  the  parish 
house,  and  the  primary  department  down  stairs  in  the 
parish  house.  Effort  is  made  to  provide  a  competent 
teacher  for  each  class,  with  an  assistant  who  teaches 
in  the  absence  of  the  regular  teacher.  The  Cradle  Roll, 
begun  in  1908,  has  been  an  important  factor  in  the 
growth  of  the  school.  There  is  also  a  Home  Depart- 
ment, with  a  good  enrollment,  and  a  class  for  teachers 


CHURCHES,  OLD 'AND  NEW  195 

meeting  on  a  week-night.  The  Sunday  School  is  a  for- 
ward looking  organization,  the  hope  of  the  Church, 
and  it  is  felt  that  especially  in  its  success  in  reaching 
the  children  of  the  foreign-born  it  is  doing  a  real  service, 
not  only  for  the  church  but  for  the  community  and  for 
America.  The  work  of  the  school  is  planned  and  di- 
rected by  a  board  consisting  of  superintendent,  assistant 
superintendent,  pastor  and  two  persons  elected  by  the 
Church. 

"On  October  i8,  1895,  the  Woman's  Home  Mis- 
sionary Society  was  organized  at  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Banker,  with  this  object:  'to  aid  in  interesting  Chris- 
tian women  in  the  elevation  and  evangelization  of 
needy  and  destitute  women  and  children  in  our  own 
land,  and  in  raising  funds  for  this  work.'  During  the 
earlier  years  the  meetings  seem  to  have  been  devoted 
chiefly  to  missionary  programs  and  reports  and  to 
sewing  for  needy  families  in  Proctor.  A  'Dorcas  Room' 
was  early  established,  where  garments  and  supplies 
were  kept.  Various  causes  in  this  country  enlisted  the 
interest  of  the  society  and  contributions  of  money  and 
clothing  were  made.  The  Kurn  Hattin  homes  early 
became  an  object  of  interest,  and  the  interest  has  con- 
tinued through  the  years.  Dr.  Grenfell's  work  on  the 
Labrador  Coast  has  likewise  received  generous  contri- 
butions of  money  and  clothing. 

"With  the  growth  of  the  parish,  the  interests  of  the 
society  began  to  extend  in  other  directions.  By  1900, 
the  annual  chicken  pie  supper  and  sale  had  become  an 
'institution.'  Other  suppers,  socials  and  sales  have  been 
held  from  time  to  time.  The  annual  gentlemen's  night 
has  become  a  delightful  feature  of  the  society's  year. 
The  first  fund  of  $500  for  the  erection  of  a  parish  house 
was  set  aside  by  the  society,  when  as  yet  the  house 


UNiO-N    CHURCH 


PARISH  HOUSE 


CHURCHES,  OLD  AND  NEW  197 

was  but  a  dream,  and  was  an  act  of  faith.  To  that, 
other  large  sums  have  been  added  from  time  to  time, 
so  that  the  society  has  a  large  investment  in  the  parish 
house  and  its  equipment.  This  house  has  made  possible 
a  larger  work  in  the  meetings.  The  installation  of  a 
^battery'  of  sewing  machines  and  complete  equipment 
of  the  kitchen  have  made  it  possible  to  provide  work 
for  a  larger  gathering  of  the  women  of  the  parish  and 
to  conclude  each  meeting  with  a  very  pleasant  social 
hour.  In  the  twenty  years  of  its  existence,  large  sums 
of  money  have  been  raised,  with  effort  and  sacrifice, 
for  local  benevolences,  missionary  purposes,  the  social 
good  of  the  parish,  equipment  and  repairs  in  church, 
parsonage  and  parish  house,  and  the  building  of  the 
parish  house. 

''Other  organizations  have  flourished  during  the 
church's  history,  have  made  their  contribution  to  its 
life  and  have  ceased  to  be.  In  the  early  days  the  Y.  P. 
S.  C.  E.  was  a  very  important  factor  in  its  growth.  It 
was  organized  before  the  church,  September  28,  1889, 
with  seven  members,  and  rendered  valuable  aid  in  the 
organization  of  the  church.  The  early  records  tell  of 
the  exercise  of  fellowship  through  the  sending  of  dele- 
gates to  local  and  international  conventions,  of  sending 
a  committee  to  Pittsford  to  organize  a  society,  of  enter- 
taining children  from  the  city  during  one  or  more  sum- 
mers, of  raising  money  for  evangelistic  work  in  Rutland 
County,  and  of  the  active  interest  of  those  who  have 
ever  since  carried  the  church  and  its  work  upon  their 
hearts.  In  1906,  it  was  felt  that  the  society  had  served 
its  day  and  it  was  disbanded. 

"In  March,  1893,  a  Junior  Society  of  Christian 
Endeavor  was  organized.  It  continued  until  1899. 
In  1896,  the  Junior  Society  organized  itself  into  a  Band 


198  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

of  Mercy  and  gave  a  portion  of  its  meetings  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  work  of  that  society.  August  29,  1897, 
it  is  recorded:  'Our  Society  has  had  a  partial  rest  for 
the  months  of  July  and  August.  The  members  seemed 
tired  and  indisposed  to  work  at  the  close  of  last  term, 
so  Mrs.  Banker  said  we  would  have  a  vacation  from 
committee  work  until  September.'  Was  this  a  prophecy 
of  the  times  that  should  come  in  all  forms  of  church 
work  ^ 

"January  25,  1907,  a  Girls'  Missionary  Society  was 
organized  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  younger  girls 
some  training  in  missionary  interests  and  in  sewing  for 
others.  Much  excellent  work  was  done  during  the 
years  of  the  Society's  existence.  In  1910,  the  name 
was  changed  to  the  'Girls'  Aid  Society'  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  its  work  was  discontinued. 

"May  20,  1908,  a  Brotherhood  was  organized. 
Monthly  meetings  were  held  for  social  purposes  and 
many  excellent  addresses  were  given  by  visitors.  Dur- 
ing the  continuance  of  the  Brotherhood  and  through 
its  efforts,  the  church  debt  was  cleared,  plans  were 
made  for  a  parish  house,  funds  were  started  and  the 
present  parish  house  was  erected. 

"Worthy  of  note,  perhaps,  are  the  Church  Cal- 
endar, which  has  been  published  monthly  since  May, 
1908,  and  the  annual  Year  Book,  issued  first  in  1909,  in 
which  are  gathered  for  permanent  record  the  various 
reports  of  the  year's  activities  and  finances  and  the 
revised  list  of  members.  In  1904,  the  church  began 
the  happy  custom  of  presenting  Bibles  to  all  the  chil- 
dren of  the  parish  who  had  reached  the  age  of  seven 
during  the  year,  and  several  dozens  of  Bibles  have  thus 
been  distributed,  many  of  them  finding  their  way  into 
the  homes  of  the  foreign-born. 


CHURCHES,  OLD  AND  NEW  199 

"Worthy  of  note,  too,  would  be  the  many  valuable 
gifts  which  the  Church  has  received  from  generous 
friends.  An  attempt  to  enumerate  them  here  would  in- 
volve the  danger  of  omission.  Appreciation  is  shown  in 
their  constant  use  and  enjoyment. 

"From    the   earliest   days,  the    Church    began    to 
realize  its  responsibility  for  various  needs  in  the  com- 
munity   and    beyond.  The    lack    of    denominational 
affiliation  doubtless  had  its  effect  in  retarding  a  growth 
of   missionary    interest    and    effort.  For    some    years, 
special  collections  were  taken  for  various  objects,  mostly 
undenominational.  In  May,  1899,  it  was  voted  to  use 
the   missionary   organizations   of   the    Congregational, 
Methodist  and  Baptist  churches  as  channels  through, 
which  to  distribute  missionary  funds.  Then  for  some 
years  the  general  benevolent  fund,  gathered  through 
pledges,  was  divided  between  these  three  bodies.  Con- 
gregational   Foreign   and  Methodist  Home   (in   alter- 
nate   years,    Methodist    Foreign    and    Congregational 
Home)  and  Baptist  State  work.  At  present,  however, 
the  fund  is  divided  annually  between  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M., 
and  M.   E.   Board  Home  Missions  and   the  Vermont 
Baptist  State  Convention.  Effort  is  made  to  have  each 
of  these  causes  presented  once  a  year  and  a  special 
offering  is  taken  for  each  object.  In  addition,  various 
other  causes   are   helped   from   time   to   time   through 
special  offerings  and   through  contributions   from   the 
Sunday   School   and   the  Woman's  Home   Missionary 
Society.  There  has  been  a  healthy  and  steady  increase 
in  the  annual  amount  of  contributions  for  benevolences. 

"A  recent  Year  Book  closed  with  words  which  are 
true  not  only  of  a  single  year  in  the  life  of  the  Church  but 
of  all  its  history.  Indeed  the  history  of  a  church  cannot 
be  written.  It  is  the  life-stories  of  the  men  and  women 


ST.  DOMIXIC'S  CHURCH 


GREEK  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 


CHURCHES,  OLD  AND  NEW  201 

who  have  toiled  in  it,  sacrificed  for  it,  and  prayed  for 
its  welfare.  In  these,  the  Union  Church  has  been  rich 
indeed,  far  beyond  the  power  of  words  to  express  or  of 
pen  to  record.  Behind  the  following  paragraph,  then, 
let  us  have  the  vision  not  of  a  single  year  but  of  a 
quarter  of  a  century: 

"  'There  are  many  other  things  which  the  Church 
and  the  Christians  of  this  parish  do  which  are  not  written 
in  this  book.  Some  of  their  ministries  can  never  be 
recorded  in  any  book.  Some  of  them  appear  from  week 
to  week  in  the  varied  services  of  Christian  uplift  and 
helpfulness  rendered  by  such  institutions  of  social  ser- 
vice as  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  Caven- 
dish House,  the  Proctor  Free  Library  and  the  Proctor 
Hospital,  all  of  which  are  helping  in  manifold  ways  to 
make  a  larger  and  more  worthy  life  possible — and  none 
of  which  would  ever  have  been  or  could  be  sustained 
for  a  single  week  without  that  vision  of  service  and  that 
personal  consecration  to  service,  born  with  Christianity 
and  kept  alive  largely  by  the  continuous  ministry  of 
the  Church.'  " 

Since  writing  these  lines  Mr.  Raymond  has  be- 
come the  pastor  of  a  church  at  Glastonbury,  Conn. 
He  has  had  two  successors,  the  Rev.  Caleb  H.  Hodges, 
who  was  called  here  in  191 7  and  the  Rev.  George  B. 
Roberts,  who  has  been  minister  of  the  parish  since  1919. 

These  are  the  notable  changes  of  the  later  years. 
The  others  are  not  unlike  those  which  may  come  to  any 
church.  One  exception,  perhaps,  is  the  element  of 
growth,  for  the  advance  in  all  departments  has  been 
most  energetic  and  inspiring.  The  present  membership 
of  the  church  is  269.  The  Sunday  School  has  an  average 
attendance  of  220. 

In   one  respect   the  Union   Church   of  Proctor  is 


SWEDISH  LUTHERAN  CHURCH 


m^^^^^  . 

iVMHI' 

^^^^^^i^^^^g 

' 

^^ 

^^V/            ^M*^^^    /^'^^ 

l^^^jBB 

0^ 

9^ 

t  ;•■ 

-   - 

lS  I  .  .                   i 

•V-  ^-     .... 
•■',■   --  y  "•.■  .;X 
■•:•.-.  ^>.-. .......     - 

SWEDISH  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH 


CHURCHES,  OLD  AND  NEW  203 

not  unlike  the  store — it  is  a  cooperative  institution, 
where  men  of  many  creeds  work  for  one  common  end. 
It  was  an  experiment  at  first,  but  it  long  ago  cleared 
itself  from  the  haze  of  uncertainty.  It  stands  today  as  a 
monument  to  the  passing  prejudices  of  sectarianism. 
Its  spirit  of  brotherliness  has  been  lauded  in  many 
parts  of  the  country. 

Here  again  may  be  detected  the  pervasive  in- 
fluence of  Senator  Proctor,  both  in  his  own  life  and  the 
lives  of  his  descendants.  Without  that,  there  would, 
no  doubt,  have  been  less  of  unity  and  good  fellowship. 

This  thought  has  been  set  in  enduring  form  by  the 
designer  of  the  two  colored  memorial  windows  which 
adorn  the  south  wall  of  the  church.  In  these  pictures 
of  glass  lies  a  message  for  future  worshippers  which 
can  never  be  shorn  of  its  effectiveness. 

Notice  how  grippingly  the  words  plead  for  tol- 
erance and  fair-mindedness. 

"In  memory  of  Redfield  Proctor,  the  founder  of  this  village 
and  its  industry,  1 831-1908. 

"The  strength  of  the  hills  is  His  also." 

"In  memory  of  Fletcher  Button  Proctor,   1 860-191 1.     He 
wrought  Christian  brotherhood  into  the  community. 
"All  Israel  and  Judah  loved  David  for  he 
went  out  and  came  in  before  them." 

This  chronicle  of  the  Union  Church  of  Proctor, 
while  it  is  entitled  to  the  precedence  accredited  to  old 
age,  is  only  a  partial  analysis  of  the  religious  life  of 
the  town.  Two  Catholic  churches  and  two  Swedish 
churches  are  assisting,  each  in  its  chosen  way,  to  keep 
alive  the  tenets  of  right  thinking  and  right  living. 
It  is  with  full  measure  of  recognition  then  that  the 
remainder  of  this  chapter  is  apportioned  to  them. 

"The  beginnings  of  Catholicism  in  Proctor  go  back 


^04  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

over  three-quarters  of  a  century.  In  1848,  Reverend 
Father  Daley,  the  Apostle  of  Southern  Vermont,  said 
Mass  in  the  house  of  John  McLaughlin,  one  of  the 
earliest  residents  of  Proctor.  When  a  Catholic  Church 
was  built  in  West  Rutland,  the  Catholics  of  Proctor 
walked  over  the  mountain  to  attend  Mass  and  receive 
the  sacraments  there.  In  1872,  the  number  of  Catholics 
considerably  increasing,  Reverend  Father  O'Reilly,  of 
West  Rutland,  began  to  say  Mass  occasionally  in 
Proctor.  In  the  year  1879,  Proctor  was  transferred 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  Reverend  Father  McLaughlin 
of  Brandon.  The  question  of  building  a  church  was 
raised,  and  Senator  Proctor,  who  was  then  governor 
of  the  state,  promised  and  gave  land,  by  deed  of  July 
28,  1879,  for  the  church,  marble  for  the  foundation,  and 
one  hundred  dollars  in  money.  The  Catholics,  though 
in  very  moderate  circumstances,  made  a  generous 
subscription.  The  church  was  begun  in  June  and  the 
cornerstone  was  laid  and  blessed  on  the  feast  of  St. 
Dominic,  1879. 

"Up  to  the  time  of  the  construction  of  the  church. 
Mass  was  said  either  in  private  dwellings  or  in  the  old 
stone  schoolhouse.  The  first  service  to  be  held  in  the 
new  church  was  held  on  the  last  Sunday  of  the  year 
1880.  In  May  of  1882,  on  Decoration  Day,  Bishop 
DeGoesbriand  dedicated  the  new  church. 

"Reverend  Father  McLaughlin  attended  Proctor 
from  Brandon  until  1888.  In  that  year  Pittsford  and 
Proctor  were  formed  into  a  parish,  and  Reverend  P. 
J.  Barrett  was  appointed  pastor,  with  residence  in 
Proctor.  His  successors  in  Proctor  were  Rev.  P.  J. 
O'Carroll,  who  was  in  charge  about  nine  months,  and 
Reverend  T.  R.  Carty  for  two  years. 

"In  1893  Proctor  and  Pittsford  were  separated  and 


CHURCHES,  OLD  AND  NEW  205 

Reverend  P.  J.  Long  was  appointed  pastor  of  Proctor. 
During  his  long  pastorate  of  twenty-three  years  the 
Cathohcs  of  Proctor  were  finally  organized  into  a  com- 
pact and  systematic  parish.  The  Reverend  W.  P. 
Crosby  came  as  pastor  in  191 5,  and  the  present  incum- 
bent is  the  Reverend  W.  H.  Cassidy,  who  was  ap- 
pointed in  August,  1 92 1. 

"There  are  in  St,  Dominic's  Parish  about  twelve 
hundred  souls.  Native  Americans,  of  Irish  and  French 
extraction,  predominate,  but  there  is  also  in  the  con- 
gregation a  considerable  group  of  Italians,  Hungarians 
and  Poles.  In  a  very  short  time,  it  is  expected  that  a 
new  church,  one  worthy  of  the  marble  center  of  Ver- 
mont, and  of  the  pioneers  who  have  labored  so  hard 
in  the  quarries  of  Proctor,  will  be  erected." 

The  Greek  Catholic  Church  of  Proctor  was  erected 
in  the  year  1906.  At  the  time  of  its  erection  the  con- 
gregation consisted  mostly  of  Austro-Hungarians.  It 
was  organized  under  the  name  of  "Greek  Catholic 
Congregational  Society,"  and  later  it  was  changed  into 
"Greek  Catholic  Orthodox  Society," 

The  land  on  which  the  church  stands  was  donated 
by  the  Vermont  Marble  Company.  The  Company  has 
also  aided  the  organization  in  many  other  ways.  During 
its  brief  history  the  Society  has  been  often  beset  by 
discord,  a  blight  which  none  of  its  ministers  has  been 
able  to  eradicate.  It  is  without  a  leader  at  the  present 
time  and  no  attempt  is  being  made  to  hold  services. 

The  Swedish  Evangelical  Lutheran  St.  Paul  So- 
ciety dates  back  to  1889.  ^^  August  of  that  year,  the 
Board  of  Missionaries  of  the  New  York  Conference 
sent  the  Rev.  Mr.  Holmes  to  Proctor  to  look  over  the 
community.  At   that   time   was   formed    the   so-called 


206  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

St.  Paul's  Society  and  a  student  named  Karl  Martin 
began  holding  services  in  what  was  then  the  old  town 
hall.  This  continued  until  February,  1890,  when  the 
present  church  was  organized  under  the  Constitution 
and  By-Laws  of  the  Augustana  Synod.  There  were 
1 14  charter  members. 

In  November,  1890,  the  first  building  was  dedi- 
cated, all  the  work  of  construction  having  been  done 
by  the  members. 

Since  that  time,  the  church  has  grown  constantly 
in  its  various  organizations,  including  a  large  Sunday 
School.  On  February  11,  191 2,  the  old  building  burned, 
and  work  was  immediately  started  on  plans  for  a  new 
one.  The  present  structure  was  completed  in  1914. 

The  Swedish  Evangelical  Mission  Congregational 
Church  was  organized  September  25,  1888.  The  real 
beginning,  however,  was  in  1881,  when,  largely  through 
the  initiative  of  Otto  Ulrickson,  the  first  congregation 
assembled.  In  the  years  between  1881  and  1889,  the 
meeting  place  was  wherever  there  happened  to  be 
available  room — in  the  school  house,  the  town  hall, 
the  Union  Church  and  even  in  private  homes.  The 
housing  problem  was  finally  solved  in  1889,  the  year 
in  which  the  present  church  was  built.  In  the  rearing 
of  their  church  home  the  members  raised  what  money 
they  could  by  subscription  and  borrowed  what  was 
lacking.  The  debt  is  now  entirely  cleared.  At  the  time 
of  organizing  the  membership  was  16;  at  present  it  is  50. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE    COOPERATIVE    STORE,    THE    SUTHER- 
LAND CLUB  AND  THE  HOSPITAL 

EARLY  TRADING  IN   RUTLAND  AND   PITTSFORD BUILDING 

NORTH  OF  OFFICE STORE  THAT  BURNED  IN    I9I3 

DEDICATION     OF     Y.     M.     C.     A. SUTHERLAND 

CLUB CAVENDISH    HOUSE HOSPITAL 

ORMSBEE    HOUSE 

IT  seems  like  a  long  journey  to  go  back  to  the  days 
when  Store  delivery  wagons  first  appeared  in 
Sutherland  Falls.  Indeed  it  is  difficult  to  dig  out 
any  authorized  date  and  say:  "In  that  year  they  came." 
The  one  outstanding  fact  is  that  the  early  settlers  at 
the  Falls  had  to  depend  on  Rutland  or  Pittsford  for 
their  merchandise  and  that  each  purchaser  furnished 
his  own  delivery  wagon. 

As 'the  houses  began  to  take  their  places  on  some 
of  the  vacant  lots,  it  was  inevitable  that  the  jealousy 
of  the  outside  storekeepers  should  be  aroused.  The 
trade  of  the  Falls  section  was  no  longer  regarded  as  an 
insignificant  item,  but  as  something  worthy  of  active 
solicitation.  Pittsford,  apparently,  had  the  more  ag- 
gressive spirit  for  it  was  from  the  stores  of  that  town 
that  the  teams  started  to  come  twice  a  week  to  Suther- 
land Falls,  taking  orders  on  one  trip  and  delivering 
the  goods  on  the  next. 

This  schedule  was  interrupted  finally  by  the  open- 
ing of  a  store  at  the  marble  yards.  Its  site  is  now  marked 

207 


208  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

by  the  rubbing  beds  north  of  the  office.  It  was  operated 
independently  by  two  partners,  Messrs.  Haywood  and 
Hall.  Nothing  is  available  as  to  the  year  it  was  built 
or  the  range  of  its  profits  and  losses.  It  passed  out  by 
the  fire  route  in  August,  1872. 

While  the  ruins  were  still  smoking.  Senator  Proctor 
planned  another  store,  starting  with  the  old  walls  as  a 
foundation.  In  the  interim  of  construction  he  placed  a 
small  stock  of  goods  in  a  corner  of  the  Company's  office, 
which  was  then  northeast  of  the  coping  shop.  This 
temporary  store  was  in  charge  of  Fred  Warner,  a  brother 
of  Myron  Warner. 

As  the  year  progressed  and  the  building  acquired 
definite  form,  Senator  Proctor  began  to  look  about  for 
someone  to  step  in  behind  the  new  counters  and  man- 
age the  establishment.  If  the  Company  was  to  have 
its  own  mercantile  center  he  must  find  a  storekeeper. 
The  only  alternative  was  to  lease  the  store  to  some 
outsider  and  submit  to  the  risks  and  uncertainties,, 
which  are  the  natural  entanglements  of  such  a  course. 
So  confident  was  he  that  the  right  man  would  be  located 
that  he  instructed  E.  M.  Sayre,  who  was  then  living 
on  the  ledge  northwest  of  the  store,  to  make  up  an 
order  for  a  car  of  merchandise  with  which  to  relieve  the 
emptiness  of  the  shelves. 

In  the  fall  of  1872,  Mr.  Proctor  made  an  appoint- 
ment to  meet  in  Rutland  a  man  named  Spencer,  some- 
one who  knew  how  to  buy  and  sell  and  who  was  not 
then  actively  engaged.  Nothing  actually  happened  at 
that  interview.  The  matter  was  left  on  the  table. 

"You'll  hear  from  me  in  about  six  weeks — one  way 
or  the  other,"  said  Mr.  Proctor. 

He  did.  It  was  six  weeks  to  a  day.  And  on  Dec. 
16,   1872,  H.  E.  Spencer  arrived  in  Sutherland  Falls 


THE  STORE,  CLUB  AND  HOSPITAL  209 

and  took  upon  himself  the  management  of  the  Com- 
pany Store.  The  building  was  virtually  finished  when 
he  reached  town,  although  the  main  store  room  was 
cluttered  with  shavings  and  the  various  other  remnants 
which  mark  the  carpenter's  trail.  Men  were  placed  at 
work  immediately,  however,  to  remove  the  rubbish 
and  bring  in  the  crates  and  boxes.  The  shelves  were 
hurriedly  decorated  with  the  few  products  already  on 
hand  and  by  the  time  the  whistle  blew  that  night  the 
doors  were  open  and  the  store  was  parceling  out  pro- 
visions to  its  first  customers. 

In  that  way  was  the  Company's  Store  given  its 
modest  start.  For  two  years  it  was  the  only  place  of 
its  kind  in  the  village.  At  the  end  of  that  period,  Fred 
Warner  gave  up  his  work  with  the  Company  and 
opened  a  little  store  in  his  own  home,  a  house  which, 
was  finally  converted  into  the  McGary  store,  an  out- 
growth of  later  years. 

Mr.  Spencer  tells  us  that  the  lines  exploited  in  that 
building  north  of  the  office  were  all  of  the  necessity 
type.  Groceries — the  staple  brands — a  little  dry  goods- 
— still  less  of  crockery — these  with  a  few  knickknacks 
and  a  few  carloads  of  feed,  were  sufficient  for  the  needs, 
of  the  average  buyer  of  1872. 

There  was  very  little  cash  business.  Trade  was. 
carried  on  almost  entirely  by  pass  books.  At  the  end 
of  the  month,  when  the  men  were  paid,  there  were  in- 
variably certain  ones  who  would  insist  on  trading  out 
the  month's  wages  in  a  lump  and  sometimes  for  thirty 
days  in  advance,  if  the  store  was  lenient  as  to  the  credit. 

Nor  was  there  any  prearranged  schedule  for  de- 
livering goods.  Indeed  every  patron  was  his  own  de- 
livery man,  except  in  the  case  of  flour  and  other  heavy 
substances.  The  store  had  no  delivery  wagon  of  its  own^ 


THE  STORE,  CLUB  AND  HOSPITAL  211 

but  in  case  of  need  it  drafted  either  a  dump  cart  or  stone 
boat  from  the  yards. 

One  day,  a  woman  left  an  order  for  a  barrel  of  flour 
saying  that  she  must  have  it  right  away.  Mr.  Spencer 
went  out  to  the  dock  where  Senator  Proctor  had  some 
men  loading  marble  and  repeated  her  instructions. 

"We've  got  to  get  this  car  ready,"  rejoined  the 
Senator.  "We  can't  let  the  team  go  now." 

"But  she  says  she  can't  have  any  supper  unless  she 
gets  the  flour." 

"Well,  take  it  along  then." 

And  so  the  boat  was  appropriated  to  drag  home  the 
flour  and  the  shipping  program  was  thrown  into  an 
intermission. 

This  incident  is  more  than  a  mere  story.  It  points 
graphically  to  the  meagre  equipment  which  was  the 
portion  of  both  the  store  and  the  Company  when  they 
began  the  upward  climb. 

For  eight  years  the  original  building  was  considered 
adequate.  Then  began  the  talk  of  changes  and  addi- 
tions. This  ended  in  1882  when  the  first  section  of  the 
store  at  the  southern  boundary  of  the  marble  yards 
grew  up  out  of  the  marshes.  It  was  100  feet  long  and 
50  feet  wide  with  its  longest  side  parallel  to  the  rail- 
way track.  Mr.  Proctor  had  been  somewhat  skeptical 
about  grounding  it  in  a  frog  pond,  but  when  once  the 
hole  was  filled  and  graded  and  the  structure  finally  in 
place,  it  seemed  that  the  problem  had  been  judiciously 
settled.  Room  was  then  available  for  several  well 
stocked  departments,  with  a  reservation  of  space  to 
meet  the  inroads  of  expansion. 

No  one  then  contemplated  the  addition  of  a  fur- 
niture department  or  a  tin  shop  or  any  of  the  other 
variedj^divisions   of   trade   which    were   later   brought 


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in 

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THE  STORE,  CLUB  AND  HOSPITAL  313 

together  in  the  west  wing  of  the  store.  No  one  sup- 
posed they  would  ever  be  needed.  But  they  were. 
And  so  another  room  72  feet  long  and  50  feet  wide  was 
tacked  on  to  the  initial  building,  running  to  the  west- 
ward at  right  angles  with  the  railroad. 

Meanwhile,  the  store  building  was  becoming  a 
center  for  other  interests.  On  the  second  floor  was  the 
library  and  Odd  Fellows  Hall;  in  the  basement  were 
the  Garron  barber  shop  and  the  Post  Office,  the  latter 
having  been  transfered  from  the  Company's  Store 
in  1882,  first  to  the  main  floor  and  afterward  to  the 
rooms  below,  there  to  remain  until  the  completion  of 
the  Post  Oflice  Block  in  19 10. 

The  store  has  been  on  a  cooperative  basis  since 
1903.  Early  in  the  eighties  there  was  a  year  of  ex- 
perimenting along  this  line,  a  year  which  aroused  all 
manner  of  exaggerated  ideas  as  to  the  probable  size  of 
the  dividend.  Consequently  at  the  close  of  the  twelfth- 
month  there  were  numerous  manifestations  of  dis- 
approval over  the  result.  And  so  the  cooperative  plan 
was  turned  back  into  the  files  to  await  a  day  of  kindlier 
judgment. 

It  emerged  from  its  retirement  in  1903,  although 
in  a  revised  and  unrecognizable  form.  Under  the  new 
provisions  the  Company  retained  no  hold  on  the  profits 
of  the  store.  From  the  earnings  of  the  year  were  to  be 
subtracted  the  operating  expenses — rent,  merchandise, 
salaries — also  interest  amounting  to  four  per  cent  of  the 
capital.  Having  made  these  deductions,  all  that  was 
left  was  to  be  divided  among  the  employees,  the  share 
in  each  case  to  be  based  on  the  aggregate  individual 
purchases.  As  a  further  stimulus  to  the  undertaking, 
the  Company  named  a  committee  of  five  employees, 
which  was  to  confer  with  the  management  on  matters 
of  policy  and  in  the  distribution  of  profits. 


THE  STORE,  CLUB  AND  HOSPITAL  215 

This  was  more  than  a  cooperative  enterprise,  for 
under  any  strictly  cooperative  system  the  associated 
members  share  ahke  in  both  profits  and  losses.  In  this 
instance,  the  Company  proposed  to  say  nothing  it  the 
store  lost  money  and  to  hand  out  whatever  it  might 
earn  in  seasons  of  prosperity. 

As  the  patrons  came  to  look  at  the  innovation  trom 
this  angle  and  observe  that  prices  were  as  low  as  in  the 
surrounding  towns,  they  no  longer  withheld  their 
approval.  The  Cooperative  Store  was  thus  advanced 
to  good  standing  among  the  town's  institutions. 

Spurred  on  by  the  expansion  of  the  Proctor  busi- 
ness, the  Company  subsequently  opened  stores  at 
Center  Rutland  and  West  Rutland,  both  of  which 
through  the  changes  in  mercantile  conditions,  have 
since  been  closed,  the  latter  at  the  beginning  of  the 
current  year.  The  Florence  Store  became  another  link 
in  the  chain  in  191 1,  when  that  plant  was  annexed  to 
the  Vermont  Marble  Company. 

It  would  be  somewhat  premature  to  allude  to  the 
Cooperative  Store  as  we  know  it  today  without  going 
back  for  a  moment  to  that  night  of  November  nth, 
1913,  when  the  old  wooden  structure  cast  its  glare  of 
burning  timbers  to  the  far  corners  of  the  village.  At 
the  time,  that  fire  ranked  high  as  a  calamity.  True,  it 
brought  no  little  inconvenience,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
loss.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  the  one  thing  directly 
responsible  for  the  new  store.  Out  of  it,  as  from  a 
melting  pot,  grew  a  larger  and  more  representative 
cooperative  center  for  the  village. 

In  one  sense,  this  third  and  last  store  is  a  memorial 
to  the  old  school  house  of  1866,  for  where  the  one  was 
the  other  now  stands,  covering  many  times  over  the 
floor  space  of  the  wrecked  house  of  learning.  The  work 


THE  COOPERATIVE   STORE 


AN  UNUSUAL  VIEW  OF  THE  FIRE  OF  1913  WHICH  MARKED  THE  PASSING 
OF  THE  OLD   COOPERATIVE   STORE 


THE  STORE,  CLUB  AND  HOSPITAL  217 

had  its  inception  in  June,  19 14,  and  was  in  progress  until 
March,  191 5.  Meanwhile,  the  business  of  the  homeless 
store  was  being  carried  on  from  several  disconnected 
bases.  The  grocery  department  was  in  the  Old  Library 
Building,  the  drugs  and  medicines  in  the  Post  Office 
Block,  and  the  dry  goods  in  the  Village  Hall  basement. 
This  was  an  exacting  period  for  the  management.  Mr. 
Spencer  was  no  longer  the  directing  head,  and  A.  G. 
Dodge,  his  successor  had  also  withdrawn  from  the 
organization.  It  was  left  to  C.  J.  Mason,  the  present 
manager,  to  keep  the  personnel  from  being  disrupted 
and  draw  the  scattered  units  together  under  the  new 
roof. 

Anyone  who  is  at  all  acquainted  with  Proctor 
knows  more  or  less  about  the  cooperative  store  of  191 5. 
The  papers  of  that  time  alluded  to  it  as  "one  of  the  best 
equipped  and  most  modern  buildings  of  its  kind  in  this 
part  of  New  England"— ^-a  statement  which  was  in  no 
wise  exaggerated  or  misleading.  From  its  exterior  of 
tapestry  brick  and  marble  to  its  underground  refriger- 
ating plant,  the  store  is  undeniably  complete  and  al- 
together above  criticism. 

The  phase  of  its  life  which  is  less  likely  to  be  ap- 
praised is  that  part  which  reaches  out  into  the  homes 
of  the  community.  This  was  most  active  perhaps  dur- 
ing the  war  period,  when  saving  was  the  watchword 
of  the  day.  Many  were  the  ways  by  which  the  store 
sought  to  popularize  the  habits  of  thrift. 

The  war  jostled  many  stores  out  of  their  old-time 
ruts.  To  the  Proctor  establishment  it  brought  only  a 
renewed  interest  in  the  welfare  of  its  patrons. 

Only  the  other  day  a  certain  prospective  customer 
called  at  the  hardware  department  to  buy  a  new  kitchen 
range.  And  this,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  had 


218  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

purchased  one  within  a  few  years  and  was  needing 
the  money  for  other  things. 

"What's  the  matter  with  the  one  you  have?"  was 
the  inquiry. 

"Can't  make  it  work.  Got  to  have  another,"  he 
insisted. 

"All  right,"  they  told  him,  "but  you  better  let  us 
send  a  man  down  to  look  it  over.  Maybe  it  can  be 
fixed." 

As  it  proved,  the  stove  had  simply  been  neglected 
and  abused  and  only  a  few  dollars  were  required  to 
undo  the  damage.  A  sale  was  lost  thereby,  but  the  man 
was  saved  the  price  of  a  range. 

It  is  in  such  ways  as  these  that  the  Proctor  store 
has  differentiated  itself  from  others  which  appear  to 
have  similar  aims.  The  average  store  strives  only  to 
exchange  goods  for  cash.  Its  customers  may  buy  to 
their  last  cent  without  admonition  or  restraint.  But 
the  Vermont  Marble  Company  believes  that  to  be  of 
greatest  service  the  store  must  be  able  to  view  the 
purchase  from  both  sides  of  the  counter.  Then  and 
then  only  can  it  do  its  full  duty  by  the  profit-sharer  to 
whom  it  administers. 

The  issue  of  Vermont  Association  Notes  for  April, 
^9^3y  was  a  Proctor  number,  nearly  half  of  the  little 
magazine  being  given  over  to  an  illustrated  article  on 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  activities  of  the  marble  town.  This 
sketch  tells  something  of  the  progress  of  the  movement 
up  to  that  time,  and  needs  only  a  brief  postscript  to 
bring  it  up  to  the  present. 

The  opening  paragraph  is  a  quotation  from  one  of 
the  newspapers  of  1909,  the  year  in  which  the  building 
was  finished  and  dedicated  to  its  program  of  service. 


THE  STORE,  CLUB  AND  HOSPITAL  219 

"But  what  of  the  significance  of  this  new  industrial 
movement?"  the  writer  asks. 

"One  of  the  most  striking  things  is  the  cosmopoH- 
tan  character  of  the  membership.  It  is  composed^of 
employers,  foremen,  office  men  and  laborers.  It  is 
significant,  too,  of  a  growing  sympathy  between  capital 
and  labor.  It  will  help  to  solve  the  labor  problem,  will 
insure  a  better  quality  of  work  and  will  develop  a  higher 
type  of  manhood.  This  building,  open  to  men  of  all 
races,  classes  and  creeds,  will  be  a  perpetual  reminder 
of  the  concern  of  this  Company  for  the  moral  and 
physical  well-being  of  its  employees." 

Then  follows  the  story  of  achievement: 

"In  the  light  of  the  years  just  passed  this  quotation 
seems  like  a  prophecy  which  surely  has  come  true. 
In  a  town  of  about  2,750  population  it  has  averaged 
a  membership  of  about  300.  It  has  been  the  social 
center  for  the  young  men  of  the  town;  it  has  furnished 
much  of  the  entertainment  of  the  town;  it  has  con- 
ducted yearly  evening  schools  for  the  non-English 
speaking  men  of  the  town,  and  been  their  friend  in 
many  ways;  it  has  held  successful  and  uplifting  Bible 
classes  and  religious  meetings  for  men  and  boys;  it  has 
carried  on  helpful  gymnasium  work  for  men  and  boys; 
and  it  has  stood  for  the  best  in  all  things  at  all  times. 

"The  tenth  anniversary  was  observed  on  Saturday, 
Feb.  15.  The  program  was  in  two  sections,  the  first  at 
the  village  hall,  where  a  free  entertainment  of  moving 
pictures  and  music  was  given  to  600  people.  The  second 
part  of  the  programme  was  held  at  the  Association, 
with  an  attendance  of  400,  and  it  included  a  reception, 
music,  games,  refreshments,  and  a  splendid  exhibit  of 
educational  work  done  this  year.  The  exhibit  included 
architectural   and  mechanical   drawings,   clay  models, 


220  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

crayon  portraits,  posters,  landscapes,  and  other  pro- 
ducts of  the  free  hand  drawing  class. 

"The  Association,  built  and  equipped  by  the  Ver- 
mont Marble  Company,  was  opened  on  February  14, 
1903,  with  an  attendance  of  800,  it  being  at  the  time 
the  first  building  erected  for  Association  work  among 
industrial  men.  It  was  designed  by  A.  C.  Rockwell, 
architect  for  the  Company,  and  cost  $36,000,  com- 
pletely furnished  and  equipped.  Invitations  to  join  the 
Association  were  printed  in  three  languages  and  100 
men  became  members  in  the  first  hour  the  building  was 
open,  and  340  joined  in  the  first  month,  representing 
15  nationalities.  The  first  general  secretary  was  J. 
E.  Baldridge,  who  came  from  the  Association  at  Cin- 
cinnati, at  the  opening,  and  remained  about  a  year, 
being  succeeded  by  E.  W.  Vose,  who  was  secretary  for 
about  three  years.  He  was  succeeded  by  D.  R.  Mahaffy, 
who  was  a  local  man,  had  been  one  of  the  directors  for 
a  number  of  years,  and  has  now  been  general  secretary 
for  the  past  six  years.  E.  G.  Northrop  acted  as 
assistant  secretary,  and  the  physical  directors  have 
been  S.  E.  Abbott,  J.  E.  Elliott,  A.  B.  Cranshaw, 
Henry  Picord,  and  Marcus  Ling.  Fremont  Hunter  has 
been  the  janitor  for  ten  years. 

"William  H.  Eldridge  was  the  first  president,  and 
served  for  three  years.  He  was  succeeded  by  George  A. 
Watts,  who  also  served  for  three  years,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  Benjamin  Williams,  Jr.,  the  present  president. 

"Located  in  the  center  of  the  town  geographically, 
it  has  always  been  and  now  is  the  center  of  the  male 
life  of  the  town. 

"The  beautiful  marble  building  itself  is  a  model 
one.  In  the  basement  are  located  the  game  rooms,  with 
two  pool  tables,  and  other  games;  two  regulation  bowl- 


THE  STORE,  CLUB  AND  HOSPITAL  221 

ing  alleys;  the  locker  room;  the  marble  toilet  and  bath 
rooms,  equipped  with  shower,  needle,  sponge  and  tub 
baths.  On  the  ground  floor  are  the  two  reading  rooms> 
supplied  with  70  magazines  and  newspapers,  a  good 
number  being  in  foreign  languages;  a  pleasant  parlor; 
well  supplied  writing  tables;  a  convenient  office  for  the 
general  secretary;  the  fully  equipped  gymnasium  50  x 
30  feet.  On  the  first  floor  are  three  class  rooms  and  the 
kitchen,  while  on  the  top  floor  there  are  four  dormi- 
tories and  a  bath  room. 

'*The  educational  work  in  Proctor  has  been,  from 
its  very  beginning,  a  strong  feature.  In  fact,  this  was 
one  of  the  first  Associations  in  the  country  to  begin 
educational  work  for  foreign-born  men,  and  three 
months  after  the  building  was  opened  there  was  a  class 
of  40  Hungarians  studying  English.  From  that  time 
to  the  present  year  has  seen  large  and  interested  groups 
in  the  various  classes  conducted.  This  year  it  has  been 
necessary  to  use  two  of  the  dormitories  in  addition  to 
the  three  regular  class  rooms  for  the  work.  The  average 
enrolment  in  the  classes  was  61,  and  47  of  the  men  at- 
tended at  least  one-third  of  the  class  sessions,  the  total 
attendance  being  1,115.  There  were  five  classes  carried 
on,  each  meeting  two  nights  each  week  for  20  weeks> 
and  17  Certificates  of  Merit  were  awarded  to  the  men 
who  attained  a  grade  of  75  per  cent  for  the  work  done 
and  attendance.  The  five  classes  were:  two  in  elemen- 
tary English,  with  two  instructors,  enrolment  19,  total 
attendance  518;  one  in  advanced  English,  enrolment 

6,  total  attendance  136;  one  in  architectural  and  me- 
chanical drawing,  enrolment  15,  total  attendance  281; 
one  in  free-hand  drawing  and  clay  modeling,  enrolment 

7,  total  attendance  180.  Most  of  the  instructors  have 
been  college  graduates,  living  in  town. 


222  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

"In  one  of  the  classes  in  Elementary  English, 
however,  the  teacher,  Charles  Pulay,  is  a  Hungarian. 
In  November,  1909,  he  arrived  at  Proctor,  not  knowing 
a  word  of  English.  He  entered  a  class  at  once,  and  has 
made  such  progress  that  this  year  he  volunteered  to 
teach  this  group  of  his  fellow  countrymen.  A  short 
time  ago  he  and  another  man  brought  to  General 
Secretary  Mahaffy  25  applications  for  membership 
in  this  Association,  from  other  Hungarians,  each 
accompanied  by  the  cash. 

"The  physical  work  this  year,  under  the  direction 
of  Marcus  Ling,  a  local  Swedish  man,  has  been  the 
most  successful  for  some  years.  Two  classes  each  for 
seniors  and  juniors,  have  been  held  weekly,  with  good 
attendance.  Beside  the  regular  class  work  there  have 
been  basket  ball  and  indoor  baseball  leagues,  volley 
ball,  and  other  games. 

"The  physical  department  raised  the  money  to 
keep  Beaver  Pond  cleared  for  skating  all  winter,  and 
electric  lights  were  strung  around  it.  The  department 
arranged  two  ice  carnivals  for  the  people  of  the  whole 
village.  The  first  was  held  on  Christmas  Day,  with  an 
attendance  of  over  500  people.  The  Proctor  brass  band 
played  and  refreshments  were  served.  The  second  one 
was  planned  for  Washington's  Birthday,  but  had  to  be 
postponed  because  of  the  weather,  and  was  held  on  the 
evening  of  Feb.  24.  It  was  a  masquerade  affair,  and 
there  were  many  fine  costumes,  and  prizes  were  given 
for  the  best  woman's,  man's,  and  couple's  costumes. 
The  evening  was  opened  with  a  grand  march  on  skates, 
followed  by  skating.  The  pond  was  strung  with  electric 
lights,  there  were  fireworks,  refreshments,  and  the 
Proctor  band  furnished  music. 

"The  social  atmosphere  of  the  Association  is  always 


THE  STORE,  CLUB  AND  HOSPITAL  223 

warm  and  cordial,  and  beside  the  regular  programme  of 
general  social  work,  special  social  affairs  have  been 
carried  out  by  the  four  departments.  One  special  event 
was  the  public  reception  given  to  the  new  superinten- 
dent of  education,  high  school  principal,  and  other 
school  teachers. 

"Another  good  piece  of  community  service  was 
the  installation  of  moving  picture  entertainments  in 
the  village  hall  by  the  Association,  which  has  proven 
to  be  one  of  the  best  things  undertaken.  About  a  year 
ago  a  first  class  machine  was  purchased  and  entertain- 
ments have  been  given  Saturday  nights  since  then. 
The  larger  part  of  the  pictures  have  been  of  an  educa- 
tional character  and  they  have  furnished  good,  clean 
entertainment  for  the  people,  who  have  attended  in 
large  numbers. 

"Beside  the  regular  paid  entertainments,  several 
free  ones  have  been  given.  One  was  on  election  night, 
when  pictures  were  shown,  returns  received  over  two 
special  wires,  music  furnished  by  the  Proctor  band. 
About  800  people  attended,  and  the  hall  was  packed 
until  midnight.  Another  free  entertainment  was  given 
to  about  1,000  people  one  night  in  the  summer  on  the 
park  in  connection  with  the  weekly  band  concert. 

"The  Association  also  has  maintained  for  a  number 
of  years  a  course  of  high  class  lectures  and 
entertainments. 

"In  March,  191 1,  a  troop  of  boy  scouts  was  or- 
ganized, when  18  boys  were  enrolled.  The  work  has 
been  a  great  help  to  the  members,  and  has  been  the 
means  of  some  splendid  changes  in  the  lives  of  some 
of  the  boys.  Five  nationalities  are  represented  by  the 
2,0  members,  and  the  first  two  boys  in  Vermont  to  be- 
come first  class  scouts  are  members  of  this  troop,  as  is 
one  life  saver." 


CAVENDISH  HOUSE 


ORMSBEE  HOUSE 


THE  STORE,  CLUB  AND  HOSPITAL  225 

In  later  years,  the  men  have  been  given  a  taste  of 
this  kind  of  Hfe,  through  membership  in  the  Green 
Mountain  Club,  the  Proctor  division  of  which  was 
fathered  by  M.  R.  Proctor. 

"It  surely  is  true  that  the  Proctor  Association  has 
been  equal  to  the  expectations  for  it,  and  from  its 
beginning  to  the  present  time  has  been  serving  men  of 
all  classes,  creeds,  nationalities,  in  the  spirit  of  true 
brotherhood." 

And  now  for  the  postscript.  In  191 9  it  was  brought 
out  in  conference  that  while  the  organization  had  made 
a  thoroughly  efficient  record  under  the  title  of  Y.  M. 
C.  A.,  it  could  do  still  more  under  a  broader  code. 
From  the  beginning  its  purpose  had  been  to  serve  the 
largest  number  of  the  town's  young  men.  It  was  started 
and  partially  supported  by  the  Company,  that  em- 
ployees of  all  creeds  and  beliefs  might  get  together  in  a 
social  way  under  conditions  altogether  wholesome 
and  democratic.  It  was  agreed,  therefore,  that  the 
entrance  way  should  be  made  still  broader  in  an  effort 
to  enroll  all  worthy  candidates  in  unrestricted  mem- 
bership. That  is  how  it  came  about  that  the  old  name 
was  discarded  May  i,  1919,  when  the  sign  of  "Suther- 
land Club"  appeared  above  the  door. 

The  secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Mr.  Mahaffy, 
is  now  the  secretary  of  the  Sutherland  Club.  As  under 
the  old  regime  the  policy  of  the  institution  is  formulated 
by  a  board  of  directors,  although  not  a  little  of  the 
responsibility  is  turned  over  to  the  membership  com- 
mittees. All  in  all,  the  gray  rock-faced  building  on  the 
square  was  never  so  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  its 
peculiar  mission.  Strengthened  by  experience  it  can 
but  be  more  adept  in  attacking  the  larger  problems  of 
the  future. 


226  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

All  this  has  to  do  with  the  boy's  future.  How 
about  the  girls?  Their  interests  are  being  studied  and 
served  at  Cavendish  House,  another  of  those  social 
welfare  projects  which  have  grown  up  within  the  town. 

"The  work  which  Cavendish  House  now  does  be- 
gan in  January,  1910,  in  two  rooms  in  the  Post  Office 
building,  with  one  teacher  who  gave  cooking  lessons 
to  adults  and  school  children.  The  purpose  originally 
was  to  teach  these  pupils  to  get  better  meals  for  less 
money,  through  a  knowledge  of  the  most  approved 
methods  of  cooking  inexpensive  foods. 

"In  a  few  weeks  an  assistant  was  needed  and  the 
next  autumn  sewing  was  taught  in  addition  to  cooking, 
and  English  lessons,  whenever  they  were  needed,  were 
given  to  foreign  women. 

"In  1913,  as  the  work  had  outgrown  its  quarters, 
a  small  tenement  house  about  half  the  size  of  the  present 
building,  was  erected,  and  in  191 7,  it  was  increased  to 
its  present  accommodations. 

"The  work  from  year  to  year  has  varied  consid- 
erably to  meet  the  need  of  any  special  time.  During 
the  war  a  woman  came  from  Boston  to  teach  surgical 
dressings,  and  a  great  number  of  these  were  made  and 
sent  to  the  Red  Cross,  as  well  as  sheets  and  towels  for 
hospitals,  bath  robes,  etc.  Gardening  was  taught  for  a 
few  seasons  and  a  summer  school  has  sometimes  been 
held  at  Cavendish  House  for  pupils  who  did  not  pass  in 
the  public  school,  but  who  were  anxious  to  make  up 
their  work  before  the  fall  term  opened.  During  the 
influenza  epidemic,  cooking  was  done  at  Cavendish 
House  to  help  out  sick  families. 

"The  following  courses  have  been  taught  at  various 
times:  cooking,  sewing,  knitting,  English  (to  foreign 
women),  surgical  dressings  (during  the  war),   physics, 


THE  STORE,  CLUB  AND  HOSPITAL  237 

household  accounting,  history  and  geography  of 
foods,  hygiene,  miUinery,  basketry,  typewriting  (sum- 
mer, 1914),  physical  culture. 

**At  the  present  time  a  regular  course  is  given  in 
connection  with  the  public  school,  in  home  making, 
which  includes  various  subjects  listed  above. 

"Bath  and  shampoo  rooms  are  free  to  all  women 
and  children  who  wish  to  use  them. 

"A  school  nurse  follows  up  absences  from  school 
and  watches  out  for  contagious  diseases,  bad  teeth, 
diseased  tonsils,  defective  eyes,  and  suggests  special 
feeding  for  children  who  are  underweight. 

"For  several  years  past,  a  club  for  young  women 
has  been  organized,  known  as  'Cavendish  Club,'  which 
meets  Thursday  evenings,  when  courses  in  various 
subjects  have  been  given,  varied  by  social  gatherings 
on  special  evenings  during  the  month. 

"This  past  winter  Monday  evenings  have  been 
given  over  to  meetings  for  Polish  and  Finnish  women; 
Tuesday  evenings  for  Hungarian  women  and  Slavs. 
These  meetings  have  been  chiefly  for  social  times,  but 
opportunity  was  given  to  any  of  these  women  to  be 
instructed  in  sewing  or  cooking,  if  they  so  desired. 

"For  the  children  who  come  from  farms  quite  a 
distance  out  of  town,  hot  lunches  have  been  served  at 
Cavendish  House  at  a  minimum  cost;  also,  this  year, 
milk  has  been  served  to  school  children  at  a  slight 
charge." 

It  was  in  1899  that  the  Proctor  Hospital  issued  its 
first  printed  report.  The  building  in  which  it  was 
housed  has  since  been  made  over  into  the  Proctor  Inn. 
The  original  owner  was  F.  P.  Bartlett.  He  had  started 
it  as  a  home  for  himself  but  had  died  before  it  was 


jm 


PROCTOR   HOSPITAL,   1896  TO   1902 


THE   HOSPITAL 


THE  STORE,  CLUB  AND  HOSPITAL  229 

ready  for  his  occupancy.  It  then  took  its  place  among 
the  Company's  houses.  The  last  tenant  was  J.  C. 
Cameron. 

This  first  hospital,  which  was  in  reality  a  welfare 
project  instituted  by  the  Vermont  Marble  Company, 
was  declared  ready  for  service  in  August,  1896.  It  was 
the  direct  outgrowth  of  a  resultful  experiment  of  the 
previous  year  whereby  trained  nurses  were  employed 
at  Proctor  and  West  Rutland  to  care  for  those  who 
were  ill  among  the  employees  and  their  families.  The 
hospital  staff  was  to  join  hands  with  the  district  nurses, 
and  together  they  were  to  administer  to  a  larger 
clientele. 

Reading  through  the  brief  synopsis  in  that  report 
of  1899  we  can  but  feel  a  growing  respect  for  what  ap- 
pears in  retrospect  like  a  little  cottage  with  a  big  name. 
Observe  the  air  of  completeness  and  repressed  pride  in 
this  descriptive  paragraph: 

"The  plans  were  drawn  after  a  careful  inspection 
of  some  of  the  best  of  the  smaller  modern  hospitals. 
The  building  is  heated  by  a  combination  hot  air  and 
hot  water  furnace,  and  each  room  is  ventilated  by  a 
separate  fiue  running  to  the  roof.  Hot  and  cold  water 
are  distributed  at  convenient  points  throughout  the 
building.  The  plumbing  and  drainage  have  been  ex- 
amined and  approved  by  the  best  sanitary  experts. 
The  housekeeping  rooms  are  on  the  second  floor.  The 
accident  and  operating  rooms  are  fully  equipped  with 
modern  tables  and  instruments,  and  the  whole  hospi- 
tal is  provided  with  all  modern  appliances  and  con- 
veniences. An  ambulance  has  been  recently  added  to 
the  equipment.  Ten  patients  can  be  conveniently  ac- 
commodated, and,  in  case  of  emergency,  a  larger 
number." 


230  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

Then  follows  a  plea  for  cooperation  coupled  with 
a  word  or  two  regarding  matters  of  policy: 

'The  hospital  is  intended  primarily  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Company's  employees  and  their  families,  but 
others,  and  especially  residents  of  the  communities 
where  the  different  branches  of  its  business  are  located, 
will  be  admitted  as  pay  patients.  It  is  the  Company's 
desire  that  the  people  of  these  communities  should  be 
interested  as  generally  as  possible  in  the  conduct  and 
success  of  the  hospital.  Its  management  has  accord- 
ingly been  committed  to  a  representative  board,  in 
accordance  with  the  annexed  by-laws,  and  the  Com- 
pany especially  urges  that  this  entire  board  take  an 
active  interest  and  part  in  its  management.  The  limited 
income  received  from  the  board  of  pay  patients  is  used 
toward  the  expenses  of  the  hospital.  Beyond  that,  it 
is  the  purpose  of  the  Vermont  Marble  Company  to 
furnish  the  management,  from  time  to  time,  with  such 
sums  of  money,  as  it  may  need  to  properly  conduct 
the  hospital  in  keeping  with  the  plan  contemplated  in 
its  foundation." 

In  the  year  book  of  191 1,  this  paragraph  appears: 

"The  rapid  growth  of  the  work  and  the  satisfac- 
tory results  obtained  from  the  outset  rendered  it  neces- 
sary to  provide  a  larger  and  more  modern  building. 
Consequently  the  present  building  was  built  and 
equipped  bv  the  Company  and  was  opened  for  the  ad- 
mission of  patients  April  i,  1904.  It  is  located  on 
Ormsbee  Avenue  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Village  of 
Proctor,  faces  south  and  west,  and  commands  a  fine 
view  of  the  surrounding  country. 

"The  operating  room,  accident  room,  surgeons'  con- 
sulting room,  and  etherizing  room,  and  the  matron's 
office  and  the  nurses'  living  rooms  are  in  the  Adminis- 


THE  STORE,  CLUB  AND  HOSPITAL  231 

tration  Building.  This  is  built  of  rock-faced  marble 
with  partitions  of  fireproof  tile,  plastered  upon  wire 
lath,  and  is  throughout  of  fireproof  construction.  The 
entire  hospital  and  its  equipment,  and  especially  the 
operating  room,  is  thoroughly  up-to-date  and  em- 
bodies the  latest  approved  devices  in  use  in  the  newest 
hospitals  in  our  large  cities.  It  accommodates  eighteen 
patients." 

Again,  in  a  publication  of  1916,  there  is  the  record 
of  further  growth. 

"In  1904  the  present  hospital  building  was  erected 
with  a  capacity  of  eighteen  patients.  In  1913  improve- 
ments were  made,  increasing  the  capacity  to  thirty 
patients.  The  changes  consisted  of  an  obstetrical  ward 
an  obstetrical  case  room,  additional  quarters  for  the 
nurses,  improved  and  enlarged  kitchen  facilities  and  a 
solarium. 

"The  work  of  the  hospital  has  been  much  extended 
during  the  past  few  years.  The  total  number  of  house 
patients  received  for  treatment  during  191 5  was  327, 
which  is  the  largest  number  in  the  history  of  the  hospi- 
tal. The  total  number  of  outside  patients  during  the 
year  was  506,  a  total  number  of  patients  for  the  year 
of  833.  The  total  number  of  house  patients  from  191 1 
to  191 5  inclusive,  was  1,384  and  the  total  number  of 
outside  patients  for  the  same  period  was  2,734. 

"The  high  standard  of  efficiency  in  training  the 
student  nurses  has  been  maintained  and  the  graduates 
of  this  training  school  are  highly  regarded  by  the  medi- 
ical  profession." 

Since  these  lines  were  written  it  has  seemed  best 
to  discontinue  for  the  time  at  least  the  training  school 
for  nurses. 


232  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

"Ormsbee  House  is  a  school  and  home  for  crippled 
children.  It  was  opened  the  first  of  January,  1921,  ad- 
mitting both  boys  and  girls  between  the  ages  of  six 
and  twelve,  and  has  a  capacity  for  fifteen.  It  was  ex- 
pected to  take  only  those  children  who  had  been  crip- 
pled as  a  result  of  infantile  paralysis,  and  so  far  but 
one  other  case  has  been  taken. 

"No  payment  towards  the  ordinary  care  and  main- 
tenance of  the  children  is  required,  though  parents 
may  contribute  anything  toward  the  work  that  they 
like  and  are  expected  to  provide  clothing  and  to  take 
care  of  expenses  other  than  those  incurred  in  connec- 
tion with  the  boarding  and  schooling  of  the  children; 
as,  for  example,  dentistry  and  special  medical  treatment 
or  care  because  of  other  illness. 

"Children  are  given  carefully  regulated  and  pre- 
scribed exercises  daily  and  their  school  work  is  arranged 
according  to  their  strength  and  capacity,  with  the  idea 
of  putting  them  forward  in  the  ordinary  grade  work  as 
rapidly  as  possible.  No  children  below  full  normal 
mentality  are  admitted  but,  of  course,  most  of  them,  be- 
cause of  their  infirmity,  have  been  kept  out  of  school  so 
much  that  they  are  behind  the  normal  grade  for  their  age. 

"Children  are  selected  because  of  their  inability, 
owing  to  their  infirmity,  to  attend  school  at  home  or 
any  public  school;  because  of  the  financial  needs  of 
their  parents  and  their  particular  need  of  care  and 
special  exercises  to  assist  in  the  improvement  of  their 
disability  and  upbuilding  of  their  general  health. 

"The  institution  is  open  all  the  year  around,  the 
children  continuing  in  school  throughout  the  year 
except  for  a  two  or  three-weeks  vacation  in  the  summer. 
The  children  are  selected  and  sent  to  the  school  largely 
by  the  infantile  paralysis  after-care  workers  in  the  state." 


CHAPTER  X 
,   A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS 

PRESIDENTIAL    VISITS    AND    OTHER    IMPORTANT 

GATHERINGS THE        COMMUNITY       IDEA 

PROCTOR    IN    THE    WORLD    WAR 

CONCLUSION 

IN  the  vaults  at  the  Company's  office  are  three 
venerable  scrap-books.  They  are  made  up  of 
newspaper  clippings  and  printed  matter  of  varied 
kinds,  and  every  paragraph  preserved  therein  relates 
in  some  way  to  the  town  or  its  industry.  Indeed  these 
books  are  in  themselves  a  history,  although  like  all 
such  collections  they  use  many  pages  in  covering  the 
ground. 

The  only  way  they  could  be  drafted  into  the  ser- 
vice of  this  final  chapter  was  by  cutting  out  little  sec- 
tions here  and  there,  lines  which  treat  of  happenings 
not  previously  reviewed.  If  then  the  composition  that 
follows  seems  almost  too  much  like  patchwork,  the 
reader  will  understand  that  it  suffers  from  being  trans- 
planted from  the  scrap-books. 

A  circular  dated  March  30,  1887,  announces  the 
adoption  by  the  Vermont  Marble  Company  of  an  acci- 
dent insurance  plan  which  was  to  apply  to  all  employees. 
On  the  back  of  that  same  page,  was  the  notice  of  a 
Savings  Department,  established  Dec.  i,  1888,  whereby 
the  workers  could  deposit  their  money  with  the  Com- 
pany, under  banking   regulations.  This   latter  experi- 

233 


234  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

ment  was  the  corner-stone  of  the  Proctor  Trust  Com- 
pany, which  was  organized  in  1891. 

A  httle  farther  along  in  the  book  is  a  small  handbill 
reading  as  follows: 

"Everybody  invited  to  welcome  President  Harri- 
son, Friday  evening,  August  28,  1891.  The  torch-light 
procession  will  form  north  of  Vermont  Marble  Com- 
pany's office  at  7:30  o'clock.  Reception  at  Governor 
Redfield  Proctor's  grounds  at  8:30.  Everyone  asked 
to  illuminate  their  residences  and  make  the  town  as 
attractive  as  possible.  Let  us  give  him  a  genuine  Ver- 
mont welcome." 

Then  follows  the  newspaper  story  of  the  celebration. 
Only  a  small  part  of  it  can  be  quoted — just  enough  to 
illustrate  how  well  Proctor  responded  to  the  appeal. 

"Early  in  the  evening  the  houses  of  Secretary 
Proctor  (Secretary  of  War  in  Harrison's  Cabinet)  and 
the  offices  of  the  Company  were  lighted  up.  Then 
colored  lights  began  to  show  on  the  piazzas  and  to 
fringe  the  edges  of  the  road.  They  came  from  Chinese 
lanterns  hung  at  brief  intervals.  Before  the  full  black- 
ness of  the  night  had  come  on,  the  little  village  was  in 
colored  lights,  while  from  an  arch  in  front  of  Secretary 
Proctor's  house  the  word  'welcome'  gleamed  in  letters 
of  fire.  At  8  o'clock  a  procession  started  from  the  Com- 
pany's store.  It  was  headed  by  the  Proctor  band.  The 
line  of  march  was  through  the  village  whose  streets 
wind  around  the  side  of  the  hills  in  which  Proctor  is 
built.  The  village  people  to  the  number  of  nearly  a 
thousand  had  gathered  on  the  lawn  of  Mr.  Proctor's 
house  and  in  the  roadway  before  it.  As  the  torchlight 
procession  approached  the  Proctor  mansion  a  great 
flame  leaped  up  from  the  top  of  the  mountain  across 
the  valley,  more  than  a  mile  away.  Answering  it,  sig- 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS  235 

nal  fires  flamed  from  a  dozen  hilltops  all  around,  while 
through  the  village  columns  of  fire  from  great  torches 
of  pitch  and  shavings  made  the  cloud-hung  heaven 
red  with  their  glare.  From  the  hills  to  the  left  also 
rockets  and  bombs  were  sent  up.  Across  the  valley  was 
stretched  half  a  mile  of  Chinese  lanterns.  It  was  five 
minutes  of  nine  when  the  head  of  the  procession  reached 
Secretary  Proctor's  house." 

Referring  to  the  demonstration  the  President  said 
at  the  outset  of  his  Proctor  speech:  "This  journey  in 
Vermont  is  crowned  tonight  by  a  reception  and  a  good- 
bye that  is  surprisingly  brilliant  and  artistic  in  its 
preparation,  and  one  that  I  have  never  seen  excelled." 

In  the  morning  the  village  was  again  breathing 
naturally.  Mr.  Harrison  had  departed,  and  Proctor 
had  entertained  its  first  president. 

Under  date  of  Feb.  13,  1893,  appears  an  account  of 
the  most  serious  quarry  accident  ever  experienced  by 
the  Company.  A  scale  of  marble  65  feet  long,  16  feet 
wide,  with  a  maximum  thickness  of  three  feet,  crashed 
down  from  the  roof  of  a  tunnel,  giving  no  warning 
to  the  men  who  were  working  under  it. 

To  quote  from  the  newspaper  story:  "The  worst 
disaster  in  the  history  of  Vermont  marble  quarrying 
came  Saturday  afternoon,  when  a  mass  of  stone  fell 
from  overhead  in  a  West  Rutland  quarry  and  instantly 
killed  five  men  and  injured  ten  others.  The  accident 
was  in  the  famous  Sheldon  covered  quarry,  operated 
by  the  Vermont  Marble  Company,  near  the  extremity 
of  work,  downward  and  eastward  over  500  feet  from 
the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  mass  of  rock  fell  upon 
one  gang  of  men  only.  The  time  was  about  1:15  o'clock, 
soon  after  the  men  had  returned  to  work." 

Following  this  picture  of  the  quarry  horror,  are 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS  23r 

several  newspaper  columns  devoted  to  McKinley's 
first  visit  to  Vermont.  That  was  in  August,  1892,  when 
he  was  governor  of  Ohio.  He  simply  called  at  Proctor 
on  that  initial  trip,  but  in  August,  1897,  he  came  again 
and  stayed  over  night  at  the  home  of  Senator  Proctor, 
thus  giving  the  town  a  chance  to  welcome  another 
president. 

The  local  paper  had  this  to  say  of  the  occasion: 
"United  States  Senator  Proctor's  residence  last  night 
was  the  scene  of  a  remarkable  popular  demonstration. 
Over  a  thousand  people  congregated  to  welcome  the 
President  and  his  friends.  All  Proctor  and  the  children 
were  there;  four  hundred  of  Rutland's  citizens  were 
there;  the  Proctor  Brass  Band  was  there.  The  eye  and 
ear  and  the  imagination  had  enough  to  feed  on  last 
night.  About  the  Senator's  house  is  a  formidable 
barricade  of  shrubbery.  Last  night  some  artist  had 
hung  in  this  choice  vegetation  a  profusion  of  incandescent 
lights — red,  white  and  blue.  Dark  hedges  were  trans- 
formed into  intricate  brackets  for  brilliant  color  effects. 
Handsome  trees  were  articulated  in  electric  rays.  A 
fountain  had  no  end  of  sport  playing  with  nearly  every 
color  of  the  rainbow.  The  American  flag,  attached  to  a 
pole  surmounted  by  a  circle  of  electric  lights,  posed  in 
patriotic  attitude  in  the  still  night  air,  and  every  arch,, 
cornice  and  line  of  the  house  was  so  accentuated  by 
electricity  that  the  moon  over-head  seemed  to  shed  a. 
dim  apology  for  living." 

The  President  was  accompanied  by  Mrs.  McKinley 
and  by  his  Secretary  of  War,  General  Alger.  Vice- 
President  and  Mrs.  Hobart  were  also  members  of  the 
party,  but  they  were  the  guests  of  friends  in  Rutland. 

It  could  not  be  foreseen  then  that  five  years  later 
the  people  of  the  marble  town  would  again  be  assembled 


238  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

on  Senator  Proctor's  grounds  in  honor  of  another 
president.  But  such  was  the  fortune  of  the  years.  A 
handbill  in  letters  of  red  looks  out  at  us  from  the  scrap 
book  pages.  It  is  worded,  in  part,  as  follows: 

''President  Roosevelt  at  Proctor,  Sept.  i,  1902. 

"President  Roosevelt  and  party  will  arrive  at 
Proctor  at  11:50  A.  M.,  and  remain  until  12:20  P.  M. 
He  will  speak  to  the  people  from  the  piazza  of  Senator 
Proctor's  house.  The  Proctor  Band  will  give  a  concert 
on  the  lawn  before  the  arrival  of  the  presidential  party. 
A  special  train  for  Rutland  will  leave  Proctor  at  12:30, 
immediately  after  the  departure  of  the  President." 

On  the  same  page  with  the  handbill  is  a  clipping 
from  the  New  York  Commercial,  half  of  which  is  given 
up  to  a  report  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  speech,  and  the  re- 
mainder to  a  playful  recital  of  the  efforts  of  the  village 
to  "slick  up"  for  the  celebration.  It  was  averred  that 
one  end  of  the  covered  bridge — the  only  end  the  Presi- 
dent was  to  see — was  given  a  whitewash  bath;  that  the 
railway  station  was  painted  for  the  first  time  since  its 
roof  was  raised,  with  freshly  washed  windows  bidding 
further  defiance  to  a  fixed  policy;  also  that  a  special 
hemlock  hedge  was  imported  over  night  to  hide  an 
ugly  fence  along  the  line  of  parade.  Yet  all  these  little 
gibes  could  detract  little  from  the  renown  that  the  vil- 
lage had  earned  as  an  entertainer  of  presidents. 

In  June,  1903,  came  the  reunion  of  the  15th  Ver- 
mont Regiment,  when  Colonel  Proctor  had  as  guests 
on  his  73rd  birthday  his  "boys  of  sixty-one."  The 
special  train  provided  by  the  host,  which  started  at 
Newport  and  wound  around  through  Barton,  Lyndon- 
ville.  Wells  River,  St.  Johnsbury  and  Montpelier,  had 
collected  about  250  passengers  by  the  time  it  reached 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS  339 

Proctor.  Of  this  reception  by  the  Senator  and  his 
helpers — the  lunch  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  sight-seeing 
in  and  around  Proctor,  the  band  concert  and  the 
speeches — the  newspapers  were  most  appreciative  and 
many  were  the  fine  things  they  said  about  the  town 
and  its  founder.  They  also  took  up  in  detail  the  events 
of  the  evening  in  Rutland,  with  the  dinner  at  the  Ber- 
wick and  the  campfire  in  G.  A.  R.  Hall,  and  the  trip 
of  the  next  forenoon  to  the  West  Rutland  quarries,  even 
the  baskets  of  lunch  which  were  brought  into  the  train 
at  Proctor  when  the  "special"  was  setting  out  on  its 
homeward  trail. 

"The  only  surprise  of  the  day  for  Senator  Proc- 
tor," declared  one  of  the  papers,  "and  the  only  thing 
in  the  arrangement  of  which  he  had  no  part,  was  when 
he  was  presented  with  a  very  handsome  gold-headed 
cane  by  his  regimental  comrades.  It  was  cleverly 
presented  by  Adj.  J.  T.  Gleason  in  a  well- worded  speech 
in  which  the  love  and  esteem  with  which  the  Colonel 
was  held  by  his  men  was  briefly  but  eloquently  por- 
trayed." 

Another  paper  observed  that  "the  handsome  new 
free  hospital  just  opened  was  of  great  interest  to  the 
visitors,  but  the  mecca  for  the  veterans  was  the  grave 
of  'Old  Charley,'  Senator  Proctor's  war  horse  that 
served  him  so  faithfully.  The  horse  was  purchased 
originally  in  Lyndon  and  was  a  Morgan  of  the  most 
pronounced  type.  His  grave  is  marked  by  a  twenty-ton 
block  of  marble." 

Down  in  one  corner  of  the  page,  almost  out  of 
sight,  is  a  printed  copy  of  the  resolutions  adopted  at 
one  of  the  later  meetings  of  the  regiment,  lines  which 
radiate  appreciation  and  the  spirit  of  true  comradeship. 
Notice  how  they  still  regarded  themselves  as  the 
Colonel's  "boys": 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS  241 

"Whereas,  we  the  survivors  of  the  15th  Reg't  Vt. 
Vols.,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-two 
members,  have  been  by  invitation  the  guests  of  Red- 
field  Proctor,  our  Colonel  in  the  late  Civil  War,  in  an 
excursion  by  special  train  from  Newport  to  Proctor 
and  return. 

"Resolved,  that  we,  together  with  our  wives  and 
daughters,  also  invited  members  of  the  party,  express 
our  sincere  thanks  for  the  royal  hospitality  everywhere 
and  in  every  conceivable  way  shown  us. 

"Resolved,  that  upon  this  the  seventy-third  anni- 
versary of  his  birth,  we  tender  him  the  full  meed  of  our 
admiration,  esteem  and  goodwill,  with  the  hope  that 
his  present  vigor  may  continue  for  many  years  more, 
to  bless  us,  his  boys,  his  native  state,  his  country  and 
the  world  at  large." 

The  year  1904  was  marked  by  a  concerted  at- 
tempt on  the  part  of  the  labor  agitators  to  create  dis- 
sension in  the  ranks  of  the  marble  workers.  Older  resi- 
dents will  remember  the  days  of  the  strike,  an  ordeal 
which  began  with  great  acclamation,  spun  itself  out 
through  several  weeks,  and  finally  settled  down  into  an 
abject  failure.  It  was  an  eflFort  to  do  away  with  the 
piece-work  basis  and  unionize  the  shops.  The  one  ob- 
stacle which  could  not  well  be  displaced  was  that  the 
shops  as  a  whole  had  no  desire  for  a  change. 

W'hile  this  strike  was  in  progress,  the  Company 
sent  a  general  letter  to  all  its  customers.  This  is  being 
reproduced  almost  in  its  entirety,  not  alone  because  it 
applies  forcefully  to  that  particular  crisis,  but  because 
it  is  an  able  summary  of  the  labor  policy,  which  has 
grown  up  with  the  industry. 

"A  strike  was  begun  here  last  month  involving  a 
small  number  of  our  employees.   It  was  instigated  and 


243  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

is  being  managed  by  parties  from  New  York  and 
Chicago.  These  outside  managers  have  sent  out  dis- 
torted and  wilfully  false  reports  concerning  the  strike 
itself  and  generally  concerning  our  business  and  em- 
ployees. As  these  reports  have  been  published  broad- 
cast, very  likely  they  may  have  come  to  your  attention. 
We  have  refused  to  be  drawn  into  any  newspaper  dis- 
cussion of  the  matter,  but  in  justice  to  our  relations 
with  you  we  now  take  this  way  to  give  you  briefly  the 
facts. 

*'We  employ  in  Vermont  about  2,500  men— the 
number  in  June  was  2,474.  We  employ  both  union  and 
non-union  men.  The  exact  proportion  of  each  the  first 
of  July  we  do  not  know,  but  probably  four-fifths  of  the 
whole  were  not  members  of  any  union.  There  was  no 
complaint  from  our  employees,  either  union  or  non- 
union, against  the  general  conditions  and  scale  of  wages 
prevailing  here,  and  our  relations  were  mutually 
satisfactory. 

"Such  being  the  situation,  some  time  in  June  a 
stranger  from  New  York  city  called  upon  us  and  de- 
manded that  we  'unionize'  our  entire  business  and  agree 
in  writing  that  we  would  not  employ  any  but  union 
men.  Of  course  we  refused.  A  strike  was  ordered,  and 
on  July  1 2th  some  of  our  union  employees,  obeying  the 
order,  went  out.  A  week  later  these  outside  parties 
attempted  to  force  out  all  of  our  employees,  but  only  a 
few  of  them  paid  any  attention  to  this  latter  order. 
The  largest  number  of  our  men  who  have  been  out  at 
any  time  is  225,  or  about  seven  per  cent  of  the  whole. 
Ninety-three  per  cent  of  our  employees,  including  union 
men,  have  remained  loyal  to  us  in  spite  of  all  outside 
interference  and  misrepresentations.  Some  of  those 
who  went  out  have  gone  back  to  work.  There  are  now 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS 


343 


MARBLE    CROWNED     GRAVE    OF     OlA)     cli-vRLEY,     SENATOR     PROCTOR'S 

ARMY  HORSE 

about  175  who  have  not  returned,  of  whom  a  part  have 
gone  away  to  seek  work  elsewhere  and  the  rest  are  re- 
maining quietly  here.  Our  relations  with  them  con- 
tinue entirely  amicable.  All  of  them  who  were  renting 
houses  of  the  Company  are  still  occupying  them  with  our 
full  consent,  including  the  families  of  those  who  have 
gone  away  to  seek  work  elsewhere.  They  have  talked 
freely  with  our  different  officers  and  superintendents, 
and  they  make  no  complaint  of  the  general  conditions 
or  scale  of  wages  existing  here,  but  say  that  they  went 
out  because  they  were  ordered  out,  and  stay  out  be- 
cause they  dare  not  return. 

"About  no  of  them  are  Italian  stone  cutters. 
Apart  from  them  the  strike  would  not  have  affected 
us  at  all.  As  a  whole  they  were  good  men  and  good 
workmen,    and    they    were    earning    good    wages.  For 


244  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

example,  in  one  shop  there  were  many  who  earned  over 
$4  per  day,  and  the  average  of  the  whole  forty-six 
who  went  out  of  that  shop,  including  several  appren- 
tices and  a  number  who  could  not  do  a  full  day's  work, 
was  over  $3  per  day.  To  them  it  is  represented  that 
whether  they  stay  out  or  go  back  we  shall  be  com- 
pelled to  unionize  our  business;  that  if  they  disobey 
the  orders  of  the  union  now  they  will  be  blacklisted  and 
soon  will  not  be  permitted  to  work  at  their  trade  as 
stone  cutters,  either  for  us  or  any  one  else.  This  threat, 
coupled  also  with  the  fear  of  being  blacklisted  in  Italy, 
has  been  sufficient  to  restrain  the  great  bulk  of  them 
from  returning  to  their  work,  although  many  of  them 
freely  express  their  desire  to  do  so. 

"It  is  the  claim  of  these  outside  manipulators  that 
the  men  who  went  out  were  compelled  to  strike  because 
they  were  only  paid  starvation  wages,  and  that  their 
wages  were  all  taken  by  the  Company  for  rent  and  store 
accounts.  The  average  rent  of  our  houses  occupied  by 
the  men  who  went  out  was  $5.07  per  month.  The  ty- 
ranny of  the  Company's  stores  has  been  especially 
dwelt  upon.  It  amounts  to  simply  this:  Neither  the 
Vermont  Marble  Company  nor  its  managers  and 
owners  have  one  cent  of  interest  in  the  profits  of  its 
stores.  They  are  run  on  a  co-operative  basis,  solely  for 
the  convenience  and  profit  of  the  employees  themselves. 
Their  prices  are  reasonable  and  their  outside  sales  to 
customers,  in  no  way  connected  with  the  Company, 
amount  to  over  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  per  year. 
At  the  end  of  the  year  the  business  of  each  store  is 
settled  under  the  supervision  of  a  committee  of  the 
employees.  In  that  settlement  the  company  is  allowed 
four  per  cent  interest  on  the  money  it  advances  for 
the  conduct  of  the  store  business,  and  also  receives 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS  245 

nothing  either  for  general  superintendence  or  other- 
wise, but  the  entire  profits  of  the  sales  both  to  em- 
ployees and  to  non-employees  are  then  divided  among 
the  trading  employees  in  proportion  to  their  trade. 
At  the  end  of  last  year  there  was  paid  back  to  the  trad- 
ing employees  in  cash  at  our  Proctor  store  lo  per  cent 
on  the  amount  of  their  purchases;  at  our  West  Rutland 
store  9  per  cent,  and  at  our  Center  Rutland  store  6 
per  cent.  This  Company  has  not  one  cent  of  interest 
in  whether  its  employees  trade  at  its  store  or  not  and  is 
absolutely  indifferent  thereto.  Instead  of  the  men's 
wages  being  eaten  up  by  their  rent  and  store  accounts, 
the  fact  is  that  during  the  year  ending  June  30th  last, 
less  than  3  per  cent  of  the  entire  wages  of  all  our  em- 
ployees was  retained  by  the  Company  for  rent,  less 
than  22  per  cent  of  it  went  to  these  cooperative  stores, 
and  over  75  per  cent  was  paid  in  actual  cash  to  our 
employees. 

"As  to  the  general  conditions  of  employment  and 
scale  of  wages  of  our  employees,  they  are  satisfactory 
enough  to  our  men  themselves  to  have  attracted  to  us 
as  good  and  as  faithful  a  set  of  men  as  can  be  found 
anywhere.  On  the  average  our  skilled  employees  have 
been  with  us  for  many  years,  and  to  say  that  they  are 
not  able  or  independent  enough  to  leave  if  they  want  to 
is  a  greater  slander  of  them  than  of  us.  There  are  some 
necesary  differences  between  employment  in  the  coun- 
try and  in  the  city.  A  good  many  of  our  men  own  their 
own  homes,  but  being  in  a  rural  community  apart  from 
any  large  center  ot  population  we  are  compelled  to  fur- 
nish houses  for  many.  The  cost  of  rent  and  of  store 
goods  has  already  been  mentioned.  Other  expenses 
also  are  relatively  smaller  in  the  country.  For  example, 
the  best  of  milk  is  sold  in  the  village  of  Proctor  the 


THE  INN 


FORESTER'S  HALL 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS  247 

year  around  at  four  cents  per  quart,  and  coal  is  delivered 
from  50c  to  75c  per  ton  less  than  it  can  be  purchased 
in  the  neighboring  city  of  Rutland.  This  is  not  the  time 
or  place  to  discuss  our  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  welfare 
of  our  men,  but  we  may  mention  two  things  which  bear 
directly  upon  their  opportunity  to  save.  We  carry  en- 
tirely at  our  own  expense  and  without  the  action  or  co- 
operation of  our  employees  in  any  way  a  general  acci- 
dent policy  which  covers  all  of  our  employees  from  the 
moment  they  enter  our  employ.  Under  this  policy  in 
case  of  accident  our  men  receive  free  medical  attendance 
and  one-half  wages  while  they  are  laid  up,  or  in  case  of 
death,  their  family  receives  $500.  We  also  maintain 
at  our  own  expense  a  free  hospital  where  our  employees 
and  their  families  receive  free  treatment  and  from 
which,  without  expense,  in  case  of  sickness  at  their 
homes,  they  are  furnished  the  services  of  a  nurse.  These 
and  other  similiar  provisions  for  our  employees  are  not 
in  substitution  for  their  wages  or  any  part  of  them,  but 
simply  additional  to  them.  It  is  a  sufficient  comment 
upon  the  slander  that  our  employees  are  poverty- 
stricken,  that  in  the  village  of  Proctor  with  less  than 
2500  inhabitants,  a  village  built  up  entirely  upon  the 
business  of  this  Company  and  consisting  almost  wholly 
ot  its  employees  and  their  families,  there  are  over  700 
persons  who  have  deposits  in  one  savings  bank  besides 
their  deposits  in  other  institutions. 

"Knowing  the  general  desire  of  the  strikers  to  re- 
turn to  work,  we  waited  patiently  several  weeks  to  give 
them  an  opportuntity.  Only  recently  have  we  begun 
to  fill  their  places.  There  has  been  no  shortage  whatever 
in  the  quarries  or  mills.  Our  only  inconvenience  has 
been  in  the  cutting  department  of  our  finishing  shops. 

"The  attempt  to  boycott  our  marble  has  been  a 


348  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

failure.  Our  monumental  business  has  been  absolutely 
untouched  by  it.  In  our  building  marble  business  our 
marble  is  being  handled  and  set  satisfactorily  every- 
where. Every  job  which  we  have  the  contract  to  set  is 
being  set  regularly;  and  the  same  is  true  of  every  job 
where  our  marble  was  contracted  to  be  set  by  others, 
except  only  one  job  which  is  at  present  tied  up  for  reas- 
ons entirely  independent  of  us  or  the  situation  here. 
In  only  one  city  has  there  been  any  serious  interruption, 
and  the  entire  limit  of  such  interruption  only  amounted 
to  a  few  days.  There  are  thirty-six  setters  now  setting 
our  marble  in  that  city." 

As  a  relief  from  the  pages  of  labor  discussion,  there 
is  inserted  a  section  from  the  Burlington  Free  Press  of 
August  4,  1905,  which  reports  the  mid-summer  outing 
of  the  Vermont  Association  of  Boston. 

"About  eleven  o'clock  this  morning  (August  3rd) 
the  party  boarded  special  trolley  cars  at  Rutland,  pro- 
vided through  the  courtesy  of  the  Hon.  Fletcher  D. 
Proctor,  and  proceeded  to  Center  Rutland  where 
they  were  joined  by  Gov.  C.  J.  Bell,  Collector  of  Cus- 
toms, Olin  Merrill,  Mr.  Merrill  of  the  firm  of  Merrill, 
Oldham  and  Co.,  Boston,  Frank  L.  Greene  of  the  St. 
Albans  Messenger,  J.  L.  Southwich  of  the  Burlington 
Free  Press. 

"President  Proctor  of  the  Vermont  Marble  Com- 
pany together  with  Col.  E.  R.  Morse,  the  Hon.  Frank 
C.  Partridge,  who  had  just  returned  the  day  before 
from  a  European  trip.  Superintendents  Taylor  and 
Higbee  and  other  officials  of  the  Company,  were  at  the 
recreation  house  of  the  Company  in  Center  Rutland 
where  the  guests  were  welcomed.  The  finishing  shops 
and  mills  at  that  point  were  visited  and  twelve  office 
employes,  detailed  for   the  purpose,  explained   to   the 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS  249 

visitors  every  process  employed  in  putting  the  rough 
stone  in  readiness  for  the  market. 

"The  party  then  boarded  a  special  train  over  the 
Clarendon  &  Pittsford  railroad  and  proceeded  to  West 
Rutland  where  the  most  famous  marble  quarries  on  the 
continent  were  visited. 

"After  visiting  the  Company's  club  house  at 
West  Rutland  the  party  proceeded  by  special  train  to 
Proctor  where  they  were  escorted  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
building.  The  guests  were  welcomed  by  the  host  and 
by  Mrs.  Fletcher  D.  Proctor,  Miss  Proctor  and  Redfield 
Proctor,  Jr.,  who  were  assisted  in  dispensing  hospi- 
tality by  the  young  people  of  the  place.  An  appetizing 
as  well  as  an  elaborate  luncheon  was  served  in  the 
gymnasium,  which  had  been  transformed  for  the  time 
being  into  a  beautifully  decorated  banquet  hall.  While 
the  different  courses  were  being  served  by  the  young 
ladies  in  a  manner  that  would  have  done  credit  to  the 
best  hotel  in  the  land,  the  Proctor  Cornet  Band  of 
twenty-four  pieces,  which  is  concedeed  to  be  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  state,  discoursed  its  choicest  music,  inter- 
spersed with  excellent  solos  and  choruses  by  a  choir  of 
young  ladies. 

"After  the  banquet,  the  party  assembled  on  the 
spacious  marble  steps  leading  to  the  building  and  had 
its  picture  taken.  This  was  followed  by  an  inspection 
ot  the  works  in  Proctor.  Not  the  least  interesting 
object  seen  there  was  the  new  power  plant  with  its 
immense  penstock  nine  feet  in  diameter,  which  will 
develop  over  3,000  horse  power." 

It  may  have  been  noticed  that  in  all  these  big  days 
of  Proctor  the  band  has  been  one  of  the  contributing 
factors,  thus  qualifying  itself  to  stand  as  one  of  the 
abiding  institutions  of  the  town.  Nor  is  its  claim  to 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS  251 

permanency  based  on  scrap-book  history  alone.  One 
of  the  stories  which  was  passed  along  to  Harry  Powers 
by  Morris  Reynolds  relates  to  the  Sutherland  Falls 
Brass  Band,  organized  back  in  the  thirties,  a  company 
of  musicians  whose  accomplishments  were  well  ad- 
vertised throughout  this  section  of  the  country.  Their 
greatest  conquest  took  place  in  Montreal,  where  they 
went  to  play  for  the  celebration  'which  marked  the 
crowning  of  Queen  Victoria.  Morris  Reynolds  was  a 
member  of  this  band;  the  Humphrey  brothers  also 
were  numbered  among  its  active  supporters.  Some  of 
the  instruments  then  in  service  are  still  being  kept  by 
the  descendants  of  those  pioneer  band  men. 

Going  back  again  to  the  scrap  book,  the  next  item 
to  call  a  halt  is  one  under  date  of  April  9,  1907,  headed 
"Weekly  Payments"  with  a  sub-title  which  declares 
that  the  "Vermont  Marble  Company  has  completed 
details  for  paying  out  over  $26,000  every  week",  x^fter 
explaining  the  new  addressograph  method  of  making 
out  the  vouchers  and  envelopes,  it  goes  on  to  say  that 
"with  the  inauguration  of  the  weekly  payment  system 
the  Company  stores  at  Proctor,  West  Rutland  and 
Center  Rutland  will  be  placed  on  a  strictly  cash  basis, 
but  with  the  continuance  of  the  cooperative  benefits. 
In  place  of  credit  books,  the  men  will  be  asked  to  pur- 
chase coupon  books." 

Two  days  of  July,  1908,  were  set  apart  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  Vermont  Press  Association.  The  guests 
first  assembled  at  Pittsford  for  an  inspection  of  the  new 
Vermont  Sanitorium.  Covering  this  phase  of  the  trip 
the  W^aterbury  Record  observes  that  "all  were  unani- 
mous in  saying  that  the  late  Hon.  Redfield  Proctor 
had  given  to  Vermont  an  institution  which  could  always 
stand  as  a  lasting  memorial  of  a  great  man,  one  whom 


VIEW  OF  THE  FLOOD,   1913— EXTRANXE  TO  COOPERATIVE   STORE 


VIEW    OF    THE    FLOOD,    1913— REAR   OF    PROCTOR    STATION 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS  353 

Yermont  had  seen  fit  to  honor  and  one  who  in  turn  had 
honored  Vermont." 

On  another  page  of  the  book  are  several  more  col- 
umns relating  to  the  sanitorium,  the  story  leading  up 
to  its  completion  and  the  officials  into  whose  hands  it 
was  committed.  This  however,  is  too  recent  for  em- 
phasis, nor  would  it  be  altogether  in  keeping  with  the 
present,  for  the  entire  property  has  since  been  turned 
•over  to  the  State. 

From  Pittsford  the  newspaper  men  went  by  train 
to  Rutland,  where  the  feature  of  the  evening  was  a 
banquet  at  the  Bardwell  Hotel.  On  the  second  day, 
continuing  as  guests  of  Governor  Proctor,  the  visitors 
were  taken  to  the  West  Rutland  quarries  and  later  to 
Proctor  where  they  were  given  the  usual  freedom  of 
the  shops  and  mills  with  a  luncheon  in  the  gymnasium. 

This  completes  the  review  of  the  scrap-books. 
And  is  it  not  time  well  spent  to  go  over  these  motley 
leaves  of  the  past  and  pick  out  the  most  alluring  head- 
lines? Aside  from  all  thought  of  the  incident  involved, 
there  is  no  other  way  equally  forceful  of  portraying 
and  analyzing  the  community  spirit  which  first  became 
■assertive  in  the  days  of  old  Sutherland  Falls. 

This  spirit  had  its  beginning  in  gatherings  of  which 
there  is  no  record  save  in  the  memories  of  some  of 
those  who  were  there.  The  twenty-first  birthday  of 
Fletcher  D.  Proctor  was  given  wide  acclaim  by  a  supper 
and  dance.  The  only  hall  then  available  for  a  party 
■of  such  magnitude  was  the  expansive  store  room  over 
Patterson's  Mill,  and  there  it  was  that  the  neighbors 
assembled  to  present  their  best  wishes  to  the  one  who 
was  then  starting  on  the  road  to  leadership.  James 
Haney  was  one  of  the  floor  directors  of  the  evening. 

Another  big  day  of  still  more  remote  times,  was 


254 


THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 


VIEW    OF    THE    FLOOD,    1913-XEAR    HUMPHREY'S    SIDING 

the  one  which  commemorated  the  election  of  CoL 
Redfield  Proctor  as  governor  of  Vermont.  Then,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  presidential  visits,  the  grounds  of  the 
Proctor  home  were  transformed  into  an  outdoor  re- 
ception room. 

Sometime  in  the  long  ago  too  there  was  a  day 
when  all  the  school  children  were  brought  together  in 
the  old  Coping  Shop.  The  plan  and  purpose  of  the 
jubilee  have  long  since  been  forgotten.  Memory  simply 
insists  that  it  took  place  and  goes  no  further. 

Looking  the  other  way  from  the  scrap-book  period 
— the  way  which  leads  down  to  present  day  activities — 
there  is  almost  no  limit  to  the  historical  data  which  is 
entitled  to  recognition.  This  little  book,  however,  can 
never  hope  to  be  considered  complete.  It  aims  rather  to 
keep  itself  small  and  bind  together  only  the  big  ele- 
ments of  the  story.  Ignoring,   therefore,   the  blizzard 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS  255 

of  March,  1888,  when  the  Rutland  train  had  to  be 
shoveled  out  of  the  cut  beside  the  Building  Shop,  and 
the  flood  of  1 913,  when  water  from  the  river  flowed 
through  the  railway  cut  south  of  the  station,  it  is  better 
far  to  hurry  along  and  leave  many  of  the  later  events 
to  be  filled  in  by  the  reader. 

It  is  inevitable  that  this  allusion  to  the  flood  should 
bring  in  another  paragraph  on  the  marble  bridge  which 
was  erected  in  191 5  by  Mrs.  Emily  J.  Proctor,  as  a 
memorial  to  her  son.  Gov.  Fletcher  D.  Proctor.  There 
is  something  perennially  inspiring  about  this  pile  of 
marble.  As  a  thing  of  beauty,  as  a  bulwark  against  the 
floods  and  ice-jams  of  the  future,  as  a  symbol  of  the 
permanency  of  the  town  and  its  institutions,  speaking 
always  of  a  purposeful  life,  it  stands  far  removed  from 
the  multitude  of  commonplace  memorials. 

Another  landmark  which  will  be  likely  to  gain 
richer,  deeper  meaning  with  the  passing  years  is  the 
Old  Library  Building  or  Municipal  Memorial.  It  is 
destined  to  become  the  storehouse  tor  a  world  of  cher- 
ished memories  and  as  such  it  will  be  dedicated  anew 
by  the  generations  that  are  yet  unborn. 

The  World  War  is  too  recent  a  thing  for  appraisal 
or  discussion.  What  it  was  and  how  it  came  to  Proctor 
is  well  known  to  every  reader  of  today.  As  a  reminder 
for  the  reader  of  tomorrow,  however,  that  they  may  not 
be  unmindful  ot  the  sacrifices  of  the  community,  it  is 
essential  that  this  brief  service  roll  be  inserted.  It  is 
taken  from  the  bound  volume  of  War  Echoes — circulars 
which  went  out  from  the  Company's  oi^ce  bearing  items 
of  interest  to  the  men  in  the  camps. 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS 
ROLL  OF  HONOR 


257 


ARMY 

Allard,  Andrew 

Allen,  S.  T. 

Anderson,  H.  E. 

Anderson,  Birger 

Anoe,  Raymond 

Baird,  Leslie,  West  Rutland 

Baldwin,  Leon 

Baratta,  Frank 

Barommo,  John,  Middlebury 

Battles,  Barney,  West  Rutland 

Belfonte,  Pacifico,  Florence 

Bengston,  C.  H.,  St.  Louis 

Benoir,  Charles 

Binder,  Edw.  F. 

Blakey,  Harley  J.,  West  Rutland 

Brown,  Russell,  Florence 

Brown,  Abel,  Florence 

Brown,  Harry,  West  Rutland 

Cain,  Wm.,  West  Rutland 

Calozezo,  Lipura,  West  Rutland 

Carlson,  August,  West  Rutland 

Carrigan,  John  E. 

Coffin,  Holland,  Cleveland 

Congo,  F.  E.,  Cleveland 

Charnecky,  Joseph  (Reservist) 

Costa',  Virginia,  Center  Rutland 

Daly,  A.  J.,  Florence 

Demsey,  John,  West  Rutland 

Dickenson,  Frank,  Roxbury 

Donnelly,  Henry  J. 

Drake,  F.  J.,  Florence 

Dromey,  J.  M.,  Cleveland 

Ducette,  Jerome,  Florence 

Durillo,  Alesandro 

Eni,  Tony,  (Died  at  Camp  Devens) 

Erickson,  Edward 

Erickson,  Peter 

Faley,  Frank  E. 

Fleming,  John  P.,  Center  Rutland 

Frappier,  Victor 

Garrow,  Frank  E. 

Gatti,  Egisto,  Florence 

Gault,  Wm.,  West  Rutland 


Gene,  George,  Jr. 

Gilbert,  Ovila 

Goss,  Ernest,  Middlebury 

Gustafson,  Carl  W. 

Gustafson,  Herman 

Haase,  Richard 

Hamilton,  Wm.  J.,  West  Rutland 

Haney,  Chas.  L. 

Hobbs,  Wilson,  Middlebury 

Howard,  L.  R.,  Middlebury 

Johnson,  A.  P.,  Dallas 

Johnson,  Carl  W. 

Johnson,  Bernard 

Johnson,  Edwin,  St.  Louis 

Johnson,  Einar,  West  Rutland 

Johnson,  Herbert 

Johnson,  Oscar  A.,  West  Rutland 

Johnson,  Waldemar  H. 

Kapusto,  Tony,  West  Rutland 

Karlson,  Karl 

Kellogg,  L.  S.  Florence 

La  Francis,  Rowell,  West  Rutland 

Lapan,  George,  Florence 

Larson,  Charles 

Larson,  Helge 

Larson,  Anders 

Leahey,  George,  Center  Rutland 

Ledin,  George 

Lee,  Allan 

Lesniewski,  Paul,  Center  Rutland 

Lee,  Allan 

Lesniewski,  Paul,  Center  Rutland 

Lumbra,  A.  A. 

Malli,  John,  Middlebury 

Mallie,  John,  Middlebury 

McDermottjThos.  P.,  Center  Rutland 

McLaughlin,  J.,  Florence 

McNeil,  Wm.  H. 

McShane,  B.  J.,  Chicago 

Minkler,  Wilbur 

Moran,  Harold,  Florence 

Nelson,  Gunnar 

Neun,  George,  Roxbury 

Nichol,  A.  D. 

Noyes,  Walter  B.,  West  Rutland 


258 


THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 


Nyberg,  Carl 

"Olsen,  Fritz,  West  Rutland 

Oncy,  John,  Roxbury 

'Oscarson,  Algot 

Parker,  Leo,  West  Rutland 

Plimpton,  F.  J.,  Boston 

Plock,  John,  Tacoma 

Pollard,  J.  R. 

Proctor,  Mortimer  R. 

Putnam,  John  J.,  West  Rutland 

Rabitor,  Frank 

Raksanyi,  Charles 

Tlatti,  E.  H. 

Ravenna,  Emanuel,  Center  Rutland 

Rudin,  Alfred,  Cleveland 

Rudin,  Oscar,  Center  Rutland 

Rusmussen   Knuie,  West  Rutland 

Ryder,  F.  H.  L. 

Sabourin,  Fred  J.,  West  Rutland 

Sachelli,  Garibaldi,  Florence 

Sedergren,  A'got 

Settergren,  John,  Florence 

Shedd,  Frank,  West  Rutland 

"Simonds,  Walter,  Middlebury 

Sisco,  Carroll  W. 

Sjostrom,  Ernest,  Florence 

Smith,  Kenneth  O. 

Solari,  Guiseppe 

Spear,  George 

Stall,  Frank 

Stevens,  Percy,  Florence 

Stomper,  John  J.,  Center  Rutland 

Strand,  Carl 

Swing,  W.  L.,  Tacoma 

Teneranni,  Almo 

Thibault,  Clovis 

Thomas,  C.  C. 

Torrance,  V.  C,  St.  Louis 

Vozniak,  Steve,  Philadelphia 

Wallet,  Bert 

Walsac,  Peter,  Florence 

Warner,  Harry,  Huntington  Falls 

Washburn,  Geo.  E. 

"Woods,  Wilfred,  West  Rutland 

Wos,  John,  West  Rutland 

Zambelli,  Hercules 


ENGINEERING  CORPS 

Duski,  Joe,  Center  Rutland 
Grieg,  W.  M.,  Philadelphia 
Lytle,  J.  W.,  Tacoma 
Parkmen,  E.  H.,  West  Rutland 
Peterson,  N.  C. 
Proctor,  Redfield 
Pugh,  William,  Boston 

ORDNANCE  DEPARTMENT 

Eggleston,  Geo.  H. 
Peterson,  J.  A 

QUARTERMASTERS  RESERVE 

Aronson,  Hilding 

Aronson,  Melcher 

Higbee,  Paul 

Rudin,  John 

Saylor,  L.  D.,  San  Francisco 

SIGNAL    CORPS     RESERVE 

Kelley,  T.  C,  West  Rutland 
Olson,  Sigfrid,  Cleveland 

AVIATION 

Burditt,  Rollin 

Fay,  Wallace 

Hamilton,  A.,  Middlebury 

Lafferty,  R.  G.,  Cleveland 

Lindberg,  A.  J.,  Center  Rutlan  i 

Ravenna,  Gene,  Center  Rutland 

NAVY 

Beauchman,  Geo. 

Beauchman,  Lucien 

Bergren,  Harry,  West  Rutland 

Bjork,  Sigfred 

Devosa,  Steve,  West  Rutland 

Drop,  Walter,  West  Rutland 

Ellis,  Star,  Middlebury 

Gleason,  Leslie,  St.  Louis 

Johnson,  Alfred 

Kallen,  John 

Ladabouche,  Frank 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCRAP  BOOKS 


259 


Moriglioni,  Batisca,  Center  Rutland 
Middleton,  A.  J.,  San  Francisco 
Nelson,  Geo.,  St.  Louis 
Nelson,  John,  St.  Louis 
North,  Jack,  Florence 
Pease,  E.  A. 


Ross,  Albert,  West  Rutland 
Segar,  Robert,  West  Rutland 
Swanson,  Carl 
Thibault,  A.  F. 
Thompson,  C.  A. 


The  foregoing  is  believed  to  be  a  complete  list  of  the  men  who  left  the   em- 
ployment of  the  Vermont  Marble  Company  to  enter  the  nation's  military  service. 

SUMMARY  OF  WAR  WORK 

'Population   of  Proctor,  1910,  census,  2,871;  Oct.,  1918,  estimates  at    2,200;  24 

nationalities.     In   service    (from   Proctor   homes   or   working   here  when  entering 

service)  about  160.     Of  this  number  about  22  are  commissioned  officers  and  45 
non-commissioned  officers. 

In  Red  Cress  and  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work,  5. 

Red  Cross  membership — Oct.,  191 8,  523;  Jan.,  191 9,  839. 

Red  Cross  State  Supply  Service  located  here  for  4  months — distributing  without 
expense  to  155  Vermont  Chapters  supplies  valued  at  $35,000. 

Work  of  Proctor  Branch^ — Red  Cross  to  Aug.  i,  1919: 

Sweaters  436  Mufflers  79 

Socks  1076  prs.         Refugee  garments  (new)  599 

Wristlets  277  prs.         Hospital  articles  13(^9 

Helmets  55  Surgical  dressings  21,351 

Front  line  packets  (ccntaining  7  dressings)  807 

1st  appeal  Belgian  Relief  Nov.  1917 —  835  lbs.  used  clothing 
2nd  appeal  Belgian  Relief  Oct.  191 8 — 1565  lbs.  used  clothing 
3rd  appeal  Belgian  Relief  Apr.  1919 —  720  lbs.  used  clothing 


^uota  Raised       Subscriptions 

1st  Liberty  Loan  1265,750.00  431 

2nd  Liberty  Loan  |207,cco.co       407,500.00  481 

3rd  Liberty  Lean  88,6co.co        393,650.00  428 

4th  Liberty  Loan  177,000.00        492,700.00  676 

5th  Liberty  Loan  144,000.00        649,400.00  594 

1st  Red  Cross  Drive 
2nd  Red  Cross  Drive 
Gifts  and  entertainments  for  Red  Cross 
Knights  of  Columbus 
Y.  M.  C.  A. 

War  Library  Fund  (quota  |i  50 .00) 
United  Wtr  Work  Drive  (quota  $10,600) 
Books  for  Camp  Libraries,  648  copies 
War  Savings — First  town  in  County — with  per  capita  sales 

(Maturity  value  on  Sept.  14,  191 8) 
Per  capita  pledged  in  June  drive  based  on  1910  census 


Per  cent  of 

Population 

15 

17 

15 

23M 

21 

$28,310.00 

10,252  .00 

1,021  .00 

1,250.00 

6,550.00 

300.00 

12,900.00 


16.50 

22.50 


2{y0  THE  STORY  OF  PROCTOR 

After  scanning  these  figures  and  taking  reverent 
measure  of  Proctor's  participation  in  the  Great  Con- 
flict, it  seems  almost  like  sacrilege  to  come  down  again 
to  the  drab  background  of  the  present.  And  after  all 
why  should  anyone  wish  to  prolong  the  narrative. 
True,  the  big  field  of  today  is  left  almost  untouched, 
but  even  the  far  corners  of  today  are  within  everyone's 
knowledge.  It  is  quite  logical,  therefore,  to  bring  the 
story  up  to  the  later  years  and  then  cut  it  off  without 
ceremony. 

With  this  one  paragraph  then,  which  is  reprinted 
through  the  courtesy  of  Personal  Efficiency,  the  curtain 
falls  and  the  type  trails  off  into  white  space. 

"By  this  means  Proctor  has  been  moulded  into 
something  more  than  a  mere  collection  of  houses.  Not 
alone  are  the  residents  surrounded  by  modern  con- 
veniences; they  are  offered  every  incentive  to  growth 
and  advancement.  No  man  need  feel  that  his  ability  is 
likely  to  be  underrated  or  that  his  house  and  children 
are  in  danger  of  contamination.  The  growth  of  the 
Vermont  Marble  industry  holds  a  real  lesson  for  in- 
dustrial ventures  of  all  kinds.  It  represents  the  life 
work  of  a  man  who  believed  in  American  marble  and 
who  succeeded,  not  only  in  giving  stability  to  the  in- 
dustry but  in  bequeathing  to  his  workmen  something 
more  than  a  chance  to  earn  their  bread." 


ADDENDA 

Many  Proctor  residents,  other  than  employes  of  the 
Company,  were  engaged  in  military  service  during  the 
World  War.  It  is  in  recognition  of  their  patriotic  spirit 
that  this  additional  list  is  inserted. 


Clarence  M.  Minkler 
Hal.  Hollingsworth 
Charles  A.  Johnson 
Robert  F.  Holden 
Theodore  M.  Nichol 
A.  Field  Chisholm 
Fred  E.  Aronson 
Carl  J,  Dockler 
Francis  B.  Casey 
Oliver  St.  Peter 
Earle  Sarcka 
RoUand  J.  Ellsbury 
Herbert  G.  Erickson 
Hilmer  C.  Johnson 
Felix  Rocchi 
Helge  Johnson 
Harold  W.  Duprey 
Carl  G.  Linder 
Hugo  J.  Ratti 
Harold  E.  Rogers 
Fritz  GuUstrom 
Edmond  J.  Gilbert 
William  J.  Monahan 
Carl  Bernie  Olson 
Charles  B.  Keefe 
Edward  J.  Donahue 
Elmari  Salacka 
Francis  M.  O'Rourke 
Joseph  E.  Root 
Axel  A.  Peterson 
Bernard  I.  Gale 
James  E.  Haney 
Leon  T.  King 
Robert  C.  Carlson 
Harry  Austin 
Charles  P.  Butler 
Edwin  A.  Larson 
Peter  S.  Thibault 
Nicholas  A.  Schultz 


Dean  F.  Alden 
Wallace  F.  Sharp 
Dominick  Freedom 
Carmen  Scrico 
Henry  E.  Taylor 
Clarence  Garron 
Edward  J.  Markham 
James  C.  Ready 
Arthur  J.  Gilbert 
Clarence  H.  Wilson 
Robert  J.  Brennan 
Cecil  C.  Keefe 
George  Jensen 
Vaughn  F.  Boyce 
Paul  J.  Bresnehan 
Harold  G.  Locklin 
Wasil  Yakunovich 
Hubert  F.  Loso 
Bert  A.  Shattell 
Ellen  Johnson 
R.  Lawrence  Alden 
Catherine  H.  Allison 
Elmari  W.  Bowman 
William  J.  Dutelle 
Henry  E.  Dockler 
William  J.  Donnelly 
Charles  C.  Joyce 
Napoleon  E.  Pelchat 
Andrew  H.  Ratti 
Adrienne  E.  Thibault 
Moses  W.  Shattell 
Oscar  W.  Melen 
Henry  D.  Nelson 
Wallace  Champagne 
William  Gallipeau 
Charles  N.  Gallipeau 
Ovidio  Boni 
Alfred  B.  Anderson 
Alfred  S.  Holmes 


^«  book  is  due  on  th    I  ^'^'^ 


"^'oi^^^^ 


M28i505      p  53 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  LIBRARY 


